


Secret Love

by Dhampir (Dhampire)



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, And they know it, Dirty Talk, Eventual Romance, I'll add tags as we go, Lust, M/M, Mutual Pining, Naruto totally wears his heart on his sleeve, Naruto wants Sasuke, Naruto's a celebrity, Naruto's famous!, Pent Up Frustration, Sasuke Has Trust Issues, Sasuke wants Naruto, Sasuke's a historian, Sasuke's infamous, Slow Burn, Sort Of, They're gonna implode before they make it to sex, Turns Explicit, communication? what's that?, interruptions are my speciality, no hidden feelings, so hot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:47:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28832904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dhampire/pseuds/Dhampir
Summary: AU! Sasuke enjoys his quiet, reclusive life as a historian and professor at Boston University. He spends his days alone and content among his books translating and delving into his love, ancient Japanese history and lore. Everything is just how he likes it until a blue eyed, blonde haired man changes everything.-----------Sasuke’s fury built as he rounded the corner to confront the idiot before he had him banned from the university library for life. The other occupant stood with his back to him, dressed in jeans and a garish orange jacket with a baseball cap on his head. “Do you have ANY idea the damage you have caused to—” His words halted as the man turned towards him, azure eyes wide and contrite as he flinched at Sasuke’s acidic tone.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 150
Kudos: 182





	1. Tuesday, June 25th

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this story has totally stolen my heart and I'm hoping you all feel the same way because I'm loving this one to pieces. 
> 
> I'll warn ahead of time that I'll be updating this one every other week and on the opposite weeks I'll be updating my other Naruto story, Almost Real. For those of you who are already reading that one, you get weekly updates from me ^_^, if you want weekly updates from me, I guess start reading the other story? 
> 
> This is my first AU and it's a long one, but I promise you the slow burn isn't THAT slow. It is me, so you can expect angst, fun, romance and twists. 
> 
> HUGE shout-out and thank you to Ookima who let me bounce ideas off of her and flesh this story out that just suddenly popped into my head. She's been busy with her own stories (that you all should totally go read), but has been a huge help in writing this one. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters, though I wish I did...  


* * *

**Secret Love**  
_Chapter One_

Sasuke carefully held the document; the yellowing paper was creased and frayed at the ends, but still in phenomenal condition considering the manuscript being nearly two thousand years old. The white cotton gloved hands reverently laid the paper flat on his workstation, taking care not to damage it in any way.

At twenty five, he was already the leading expert of Ancient Japanese history at Boston University and had been almost giddy to receive the manuscript for translation from his friend and fellow historian Jugo. They didn’t speak often, being countries away and neither of them phone conversationists certainly made it difficult to remain in contact, but they often called when they needed a second opinion or help—of course Sasuke never needed either of those.

Already a tenured Professor and the new Department Head of Ancient History, Sasuke enjoyed the freedom it gave him to pick and choose which classes he would teach and how many. It allowed him more time to focus on his _real_ love, transcribing manuscripts and researching them.

Sasuke’s eyes flew over the manuscript, his mind easily translating the rare _man'yōgana_ dialect to English, but he frowned at the smudged word that had thrown Jugo. No wonder he had struggled with it, that single piece changed the entire sentence to where it was either speaking of an emperor or a usurper. The manuscript gave no name, but the age of the document helped pinpoint at least which people it might be speaking of.

“Damn it! Where the hell is it?”

Sasuke looked up from his station, frowning at whoever was invading his privacy. This area was supposed to be restricted except to those who had special clearance due to the old and rare books present and _everyone_ who had access knew to tiptoe quietly and not speak lest they incur Sasuke’s wrath.

“The librarian said second floor, make a right and then two rows down make a left...or was it a right? Maybe I was supposed to make a left first?” The husky voice floated loudly from at least three rows over, confusion evident as the male stomped around Sasuke’s sanctuary.

Narrowing his eyes, he tried to tune the idiot out and returned to pondering the smudged word. If this was talking about who he thought it was, it could rock the ancient history world if it turned out that Emperor Suinin was actually a usurper instead of the chosen son as the _Kiki_ recorded. It would not only give credence to the legendary emperor being a real person, but it would literally _change_ history. Sasuke felt a trill of excitement at the thought as he continued to read over the rest of the document.

One of the shelves not far from Sasuke suddenly shook precariously, a book falling with a sickening thud as the unnamed man yelled, “Ow! Fuckin’ hell!”

Sasuke froze, rage bubbling as he looked over his shoulder to where the small ancient book lay on the floor. He was going to eviscerate the man, as slowly and painfully as possible, if even one corner of that book was damaged. Sasuke angrily took off his gloves and slammed them down on the table far from the precious manuscript.

“Uh...hello? Is someone here?” The voice called as Sasuke stalked over and gently picked up the book that had fallen. His eyes scanned over the spine, noting the slight crack in the binding. A first edition of _The Tale of Heiki_ , the book was 600 years old and had survived centuries in pristine condition only for some oaf to knock it off the shelf and damage the spine.

Sasuke’s fury built as he rounded the corner to confront the idiot before he had him banned from the university library for life. The other occupant stood with his back to him, dressed in jeans and a garish orange jacket with a baseball cap on his head. “Do you have _any_ idea the damage you have caused to—” His words halted as the man turned towards him, azure eyes wide and contrite as he flinched at Sasuke’s acidic tone.

“I’m really sorry!” The man apologized, a tremulous smile pulling at his lips as he backed up a step from Sasuke’s thunderous expression. “I just got turned around and then tripped...” he shrugged and took another step back.

Sasuke’s hand shot out and grabbed the front of the man’s coat and pulled him forward. “You’re about to fucking do it again!” He hissed, jerking his head towards the bookshelf the blue eyed man almost stepped into.

He looked over his shoulder, realizing how close he was and began to sweat beneath the withering glower directed at him. “Oh, shit! Okay, is there a safe place I can apologize?”

“Yes, outside the library.” Sasuke spat as he began dragging the man towards the elevator.

“Wait! But I haven’t even gotten to look for the book I’m trying to find! I _really_ need to find it.” The man tried to plant his feet down on the ground, but Sasuke was stronger than he looked despite his lissome frame and continued to pull the stranger along.

“How did you even get up here?” He snarled. “You need a special key to make the elevator work!”

“My grandfather gave me the key.”

“Who the hell is your grandfather? We don’t give keys out like candy.” He finally let go of the obscenely bright coat as they neared the elevator doors.

“Jiraiya Sannin.” The man huffed with annoyance. “Not that it’s any of your business, teme.”

Sasuke’s hands paused just before he pressed the elevator button. He looked incredulously at the man, finally taking in the tanned skin, whiskered cheeks and bright blonde hair sticking out haphazardly beneath the black baseball cap. “Your grandfather is the _Dean_?” The blonde mutely nodded repeatedly. “You don’t look anything like him.” He accused, snatching the hat off the blonde’s head to see what color roots he had. Sasuke had seen a few pictures of the Dean as a younger man and knew he’d had a degree of albinism that left him with a shock of white hair and wondered if the supposed grandson had it as well. He was mildly surprised to see the spiky locks were the same blonde from tip to root, most certainly not dyed unless it had been done within the last few days.

“W-well, I call him my grandfather, but he’s really my godfather.” He smiled, rubbing the back of his head briefly. “He raised me when my parents died.”

Sasuke’s anger cooled slightly at the mention of being an orphan and he gave an empathetic nod. “So you must be the brat he complains about.”

The blonde scowled and snatched his hat back. “I’ve told him to stop calling me that!”

“The way he talked about you I thought you were seven.”

“He still treats me like I’m seven too.” He groused. “Even though I’m twenty four, successful and completely independent.”

Sasuke gave the man a flat look, “Obviously not that independent since you ran hard enough into an inanimate object to damage a priceless book.”

The blonde winced. “Did I really damage a book?”

He held up the _Tale of Heiki_ that he had carried with him. “Yes, the spine is damaged.”

Blue eyes squinted as the man studied the spine of the book before quizzically looking at him. “...where?”

Sasuke scoffed, “ _Where_? Right there!” He pointed out the small crack in the leather binding.

He moved closer, staring at where Sasuke pointed. “I don’t see anything!”

“Are you blind, dobe?” He growled, shoving the spine of the book into the tanned face. “Right. There.”

“You mean that little tiny minuscule _crease_?” The man shouted, flabbergasted.

“It’s not a crease, not that _that_ would be forgivable anyway,” Sasuke glared, anger returning, “but it’s a crack in what had once been a perfectly preserved book.”

“You don’t have to be such a bastard about it, crease or crack, it was an accident.” The blonde sneered.

“Which is why you’re leaving the library.” He retorted, pressing the elevator button. “I don’t care if your grandfather is the Dean, this is _my_ domain and I’m telling you to get out.”

The blonde looked ready to protest, but one look at the lethal glower on Sasuke’s face had him rethink it. Instead he huffed, shoving the baseball cap back on his head and pulling the brim down, and stepped onto the elevator. He stabbed the button for the ground floor harshly and leaned against the wall, arms crossed angrily over his chest, and muttered just as the doors were closing, “Fucking asshole.”

Sasuke gripped the book in his tightly, forgetting for a moment it was a priceless artifact. It wasn’t until he was returning to his workstation and found a pair of dark gray Oakley sunglasses on the ground that obviously had to have belonged to the blonde that he realized he didn’t have a name to even put on the banned list.  
  
  
Dhampir  
Page 4  
1/18/2020


	2. Wednesday, July 3rd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I was gonna update every other week, but I think I've got enough written to update weekly and finish the story before running out of chapters to post. ^_^ 
> 
> So expect updates on Thursdays!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters, but the story idea is **all mine** ^_^

* * *

 **Secret** **Love**  
 _Chapter Two_

Naruto slammed the door, the sound reverberating through the sprawling Victorian house he had grown up in. He couldn’t believe how much of a bastard the raven haired man had been. And all because he accidentally made a crease.

And it _was_ a crease, no matter how much the asshole insisted it was a crack. A little insignificant crease on a book, aren’t books _supposed_ to have cracks and creases in the spine? What’s the point of having a book if you don’t even open it to read?

“Naruto?” A deep voice called as Naruto angrily toed his shoes off. His grandfather followed, appearing at the doorway of the foyer with surprise. “You’re back a lot earlier than I thought you’d be.”

“Yeah because some fucking bastard kicked me out!”

Jiraiya groaned, “Sasuke was there? He usually isn’t in there on Tuesdays.”

Naruto shrugged off his jacket, his anger heating him better than any fire ever could. “I don’t know the teme’s name, all I know is I accidentally bumped the bookshelf and he came raging at me that I damaged a book and kicked me out.”

The white haired man stilled, eyes widening with what looked like fear. Naruto looked shrewdly at his godfather, the only person Jiraiya feared was Tsunade or so he thought, what the hell did that bastard do to make Jiraiya fear him? “You damaged a book? Hell Naruto, I’m surprised you’re still breathing!”

“He claims I put a crack in the spine of some book, but it’s _miniscule_ , practically invisible to the naked eye, except for Mr. Magnifying Eyes apparently.” Naruto huffed. “I’m sure it’s a crease anyway.”

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful in the restricted library?” Jiraiya scolded angrily, “You weren’t even supposed to _touch_ any of the antique books, just the reference books beneath them. How the hell did you damage one?”

Naruto bristled, “I tripped, okay? It was an accident and it’s just a fucking book! What if I did damage one? Accidents happen!”

“Brat, those books are _thousands_ of dollars, some of them hundreds of thousands, and even a small crack will devalue it by at least thirty percent.” Jiraiya explained, watching the anger melt away from the blonde’s face and become replaced with genuine contrition. “I knew I should’ve gone with you…but, well, you know.”

Blue eyes rolled and Naruto wryly smiled, “Yeah, but then you would have missed the swimsuit competition on ESPN. I thought that channel was for _sports_.”

“Oh, it’s definitely a sport.” Jiraiya leered before another thought popped into his head and he almost cried. “Oh man, I’m going to have to fill out insurance paperwork for that book. Do you have any idea how many pages of documentation that it? Damn it, you brat, not only will I have to deal with a pissy professor, but I have to deal with insurance agents!”

“Hey, maybe it wasn’t this Sas guy you’re so worried about.” Naruto tried to say brightly. “You said he isn’t there on Tuesdays, so maybe you can just hide it from him?”

“Was he pale with dark hair, always scowling?”

“Well he was more snarling than scowling,” he slowly admitted, wincing at the anguished look on Jiraiya’s face, “but yeah, sounds right.”

“Shit, that’s Sasuke all right.” The elder man sighed, scratching at his head. “Damn it brat, now I’m gonna have to avoid my office and all research areas until he calms down!” Jiraiya almost whined. “He knows where they all are.”

“You’re the Dean,” Naruto responded flatly, “aren’t you his boss?”

“Of course I’m his boss, but it’s not like he cares or anything! And I can’t fire him, he brings a lot of business to the university, he’s a world renowned historian and translator, you know.” Jiraiya explained before he gave a sympathetic smile at the blonde. “Actually, he’s really the person you need to talk to.”

“What? _Why_?” Naruto whined, not wanting to go _anywhere_ near the teme ever again.

“Because he’s the leading expert on Japanese History, if you want to research your family history, then you need Sasuke.”

“ _SERIOUSLY?!_ ”

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the elevator. It had been a little over week since he was last here and Jiraiya insisted he go and _apologize_ to the bastard. Apparently Sasuke had no life because he was in the library almost constantly except for weekends and Tuesdays—well usually.

He ground his teeth, he didn’t want to apologize and he definitely didn’t want to ask for the asshole’s help, but the need to know about his parents and his family history was more important than his pride.

Which is how he found himself pushing the button for the elevator on a Wednesday afternoon, dressed once more in his bright orange coat with a baseball cap shoved low on his head and a new pair of sunglasses covering his distinctive blue eyes. He had apparently misplaced his favorite Oakley’s in his anger and that only added to his foul mood. Those had been his first big purchase, a frivolous and ridiculously big purchase, and he had a strange attachment to them. Of course most people who dropped ten grand on a pair of sunglasses would have an attachment to them.

The elevator dinged quietly and Naruto stepped in before inserting his key into the override that would allow him access to the second floor. The doors closed and elevator shuddered gently as it began its short assent, Naruto would much rather take the stairs, but apparently there weren’t any stairs, only a fire escape on the outside of the building.

The doors opened and Naruto pocketed his key and lifted his sunglasses up to set them on the brim of his hat so he could see in the dim lit room. He was pretty certain the last time he came the dark room and his dark sunglasses is what had led him to stumble and fall into the bookshelf in the first place.

Naruto paused, listening intently for any signs of life, but he didn’t hear any noise, so maybe he was in luck and Sasuke wasn’t here. If he showed up on a Tuesday when he usually doesn’t then there’s no reason he could not show up on a day he usually does.

“Karin, is that you?”

Naruto cringed, while the voice was soft and velvety instead of snarling and rough with anger, he’d recognize that smooth baritone anywhere. He suddenly wanted to turn heel and get back on the elevator before the raven historian saw him, he wasn’t easily intimidated, but something about the man just screamed to not get too close because Sasuke would wreck him. He had just begun to turn away when Sasuke appeared with a frown that quickly turned into a murderous scowl.

“What the hell are you doing here again?” The historian snarled once his shock at seeing the blonde again wore off.

Naruto had been ready to apologize even though he didn’t want to, but the bastard’s tone immediately got his hackles up. “I told you, I need to find a book.” He snapped, returning the raven’s scowl.

“And I told _you_ that this is my domain and to get out.” Sasuke stepped threateningly towards the blonde.

“Well this is _my_ grandfather’s university so you can’t tell me to get out!”

“We’ll see about that.” Sasuke said lowly, grabbing Naruto’s bicep to drag him to the Dean’s office and tell Jiraiya personally to get rid of the annoying blonde.

“Get the hell off me, teme!” Naruto snarled, yanking his arm roughly away and inadvertently also smacking Sasuke in the face.

The retaliating punch came swiftly and powerfully as Sasuke held nothing back as his fist smashed into the side of Naruto’s face, causing the blonde to stumble back a few steps.

Naruto touched his lip, pulling bloody fingers away as his tongue ran over the cut with a growl. “Okay, you asked for it!” He yelled before launching himself at Sasuke.

The two tussled, trading blows as they snarled and snapped at each other in the open space near the elevator. Taunts were thrown and neither held back, but if one went down, the other waited until they either yielded or got back up, but neither wanted to be the first to yield even after their punches slowed and became almost weak. It wasn’t until Sasuke had pinned Naruto the ground, both men exhausted and panting, that they took stock in each other’s injuries.

Sasuke was obviously the better fighter as he only had a swelling jaw and what would probably become a black eye, but there was bloody spittle on his lips that told Naruto he had probably loosened a few teeth. The blonde was certain he got Sasuke’s ribs and chest too, but he’d only know that if he pulled the sweaty shirt off the man.

Naruto on the other hand hadn’t been easy, but that was more because of stamina and brawn than it was because of skill. Sasuke had landed multiple blows to his face and ribs and Naruto knew he was gonna be _sore_ as hell tomorrow.

But as he looked up into fathomless black eyes, Naruto saw that amusement had replaced anger and he finally relaxed, yielding to the man who was straddling him and pinning him down. He began laughing, the sound starting out a low chuckle and growing into full belly rolling laughs as tears collected at the corners of his eyes before trailing down the sides of his face.

Sasuke stared at him like he was crazy and slowly sat up, releasing Naruto’s arms. “Are you brain damaged?” Sasuke asked.

“Maybe,” Naruto grinned, “you did get me in the head a couple times.”

That got an almost amused snort from the other man. “What’s your name?” A raised brow from the blonde caused Sasuke to roll his eyes. “So I can put it on the banned list.”

“Naruto.” He laughed and stuck his hand up towards Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke awkwardly took the hand and shook it. “Sasuke.”

“Mind letting me up Sasuke?”

The historian smirked, “That depends. Planning to damage anymore books?”

“Nah, did enough damage to your face to last me a while.” Naruto’s grin widened into a toothy smile as Sasuke stood up and watched the blonde climb to his feet with a groan. “Shit, what are you, some martial arts expert?”

“Third degree black belt.”

Naruto laughed before wincing. Now that the adrenaline was draining from him, he felt his bruised ribs whenever he breathed. “Well, that explains it! Though I did pretty good against ya for not having any training.”

A slight look of surprise appeared on Sasuke’s face before impassivity won. He had assumed the blonde had studied some type of martial arts with how well he had blocked and kept up with him. “Obviously you’ve fought before.”

Naruto shrugged, “Yeah well when you’re getting into fights almost daily through middle and high school you learn shit.”

“Hn.” Sasuke felt along his jaw gingerly as he watched the blonde stretch, a slip of tanned skin showing as his shirt rode up.

“So, um, my grandfather said you’re like some expert in Japanese history.” Naruto said hesitantly, picking up where his shirt and sunglasses had gone skittering during their fight.

“Hn.”

He rolled his eyes at the noncommittal response. “Well, he told me I should ask for your help. I want to learn about my parents.” His voice had fallen to a gentle whisper at the end and he looked at the ground, certain the historian would refuse.

It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse and he almost had until he looked at the blonde. Those blue eyes that had been so expressive and open had hardened and grown icy as he stared down at the ground. His body had tensed as he awaited the expected rejection, fists clenched at his sides and mouth set in a firm line—it was obvious the blonde was used to rejection and used anger to hide the hurt. Sasuke knew anger well, he used the same coping mechanism for his own pain, though he had found some semblance of peace a few years ago that allowed him let go of much of the pain and anger he had held. “Sure.” He said nonchalantly, as if helping the blonde wasn’t hampering his own precious research.

Naruto looked up shocked, “Wait, what?” His eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning and that wide smile came back that pushed his cheeks up so high it caused his eyes to squint slightly. “You will, really?”

Sasuke snorted, a slight smirk upturning one side of his lips. “Really. But first you need to apologize for last week.”

The smile dropped and Naruto harrumphed as he crossed his arms over his chest, wincing slightly. “Why should I?”

“Because you damaged university property.” Sasuke almost grinned. While the happy expression was gone, Naruto wasn’t closed off as he had been just seconds ago. That fire had returned as Naruto mulled over what he said.

“Fine.” He sighed, “I’m sorry that I bumped into the bookshelf and knocked a book off.”

“And...” Sasuke prompted when Naruto didn’t continue.

“And pissed off your prissy ass.” The blonde smirked.

He narrowed his eyes, “ _And_...”

Naruto’s smirk grew, “That’s the most you’re getting from me. I still hold that it was a crease and probably already there.”

“It was a crack!” Sasuke snapped, anger curling around him again. Why did he agree to help the idiot?

“Hey, you told me I needed to apologize and I did, you didn’t specify for what, so that’s the best you’re getting.” Naruto stuck his tongue out childishly.

At the childish antics, Sasuke felt his anger recede just as suddenly as it appeared. Despite still being annoyed, something about the blonde just made him go against his normally stoic and reclusive ways. Unless they were his own graduate students or Jugo, Sasuke turned down everyone else who asked for his help, but annoyingly enough he didn’t want to see that closed off expression on Naruto again. He knew next to nothing about the blonde, but he knew that look didn’t belong on that face. “Fine.” He ground out, “But you need to follow _my_ rules.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s your ‘domain’ and shit.” Naruto snarkily commented, making air quotes when he said domain.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. “One, you will not touch the books _or_ the shelves. Two, you will not be here when I am not here, I don’t trust you.” The blonde sputtered, but Sasuke just kept going. “Three, no tripping.”

“No _tripping_?! How the hell am I supposed to stop that?”

Sasuke just smirked, “Four, you don’t tell your grandfather about our fist fight here. Five, you don’t tell _anyone_ other than your grandfather that I am helping you. Not a word.” His eyes glinted dangerously and Naruto nodded in understanding. “If you break any of my rules, you’ll be banned forever.”

“God, you’re such a bastard, you know that?”

The historian just shrugged, still looking at Naruto and waiting for him to agree.

“Fine, I agree to your rules.” Naruto huffed. He looked Sasuke over, really taking a moment to study the man, whose pale skin and dark black hair seemed almost vampiric in the dimly lit library. The angular jaw and high cheekbones and haughty attitude made him fit to be the lord of some craggily castle on the dull moors. Naruto brought his eyes back up, easily meeting the indignant black depths, before holding out his arm with a grin. “You gonna hold my hand as we walk through the aisles?”

Sasuke knew the blonde was teasing, but the challenging tone got to him. “It’s probably safest.” He said monotonously before grabbing the outstretched hand and pulling Naruto towards his workstation. The blonde’s warm hand gripped his as he stumbled after him, catching his feet so he wouldn’t trip.

“I was joking, teme!”

Sasuke smirked over his shoulder, “Don’t offer things you’re not willing to give, dobe.”

A slight blush appeared on Naruto’s cheeks as he let the historian pull him along. Sasuke’s hand was warm and smooth unlike his sweaty, calloused one and Naruto was man enough to admit that he liked the feel of the devastatingly handsome man’s hand in his.

Dhampir  
Page 8  
1/28/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapter titles are going to be the dates of their meetings, probably the last one since some chapters cover multiple days ^_^ 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed the next chapter!
> 
> Also, I need some reading material, so if anyone has any suggestions...let me know!


	3. Wednesday, July 3rd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto learns some things about Sasuke...like he’s a control freak.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters, but this story is definitely all mine.

* * *

**Secret Love**  
_Chapter Three_

Sasuke dropped Naruto’s hand once they reached his workstation located almost in the exact middle of the library. When Sasuke became a tenured professor, the first thing he did was rearrange this part of the library, it took him months to recode and rearrange everything, but now all the books were broken up by era, then author instead of the other way around.

Beneath the rare and precious books were history and reference books that coincided with each era. It allowed for easy cross reference and more in depth information on authors, various historical people and times that the antique books were written in.

Prior to the rearrangement, Sasuke had found himself running all over the library tracking down various books from similar eras when he was translating a piece. With his workstation now in the middle, it allowed him to be the same distance from everything and he worked better for it.

While his graduate students all had their own workstations, they were located around the edges of the restricted library, but his students knew they were welcome to come to him any time. It also made certain that no one could claim him favoring one student over another as they were all an equal distance from his workstation.

No other history professors wanted an assigned workstation and so Sasuke had a few placed for anyone to use, but everyone knew better than to ever use Sasuke’s. Hell, _almost_ everyone knew better than to walk into his domain without invitation except for a certain blonde haired man. He made a mental note to corner Jiraiya about this breach of conduct later, once the man finally came out of hiding.

The raven historian slid a pair cotton gloves on and very gently picked up the manuscript he had been working on. He still wasn’t any closer yet in deciphering whether the word was usurper or emperor, but helping the blonde for a few hours would be a welcome distraction to continuing to go round and round with that one word.

“Whoa, that looks _old_.” Naruto whispered in awe as Sasuke placed the document in a hard protective sleeve and then carefully filed it away in his drawer.

“It is, it’s over two thousand years old.”

Naruto choked on his own spit. “Holy shit! What’s it about?”

Sasuke gave the blonde a cursory look, not really believing he was interested. Most people found the idea of being a historian interesting—thoughts of Indiana Jones, Laura Croft and such always came to mind—but usually lost interest when they discovered all Sasuke did was hole up in some stuffy library and read until his eyes hurt. And teach a class on doing just that some more.

He’d gone on archeological digs a few times, but often found the work tedious and boring for him. Not that the historical significance and discoveries bored him, but it usually meant spending a lot of time with _people_ who wanted to be friends and... _talk_. Talk about their lives, their childhood and family—all things Sasuke avoided like the plague. Usually all it took was for someone to learn his last name before the questions started, but Sasuke hated it all.

“Um, Sasuke?” A tanned hand waved in his face and he blinked at the blonde.

“It’s a decree about an emperor during the first century in Japan. It’s discussing the good and bad about the new emperor.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up, “Wow! You can really read that dialect? That’s really neat.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “It’s not that hard.”

The blonde grinned, “I can barely read English, I’m not even going to attempt another language!”

“What do you mean ‘barely read’?” He scoffed, “Didn’t you go to school?”

“Well I mean, I can _read_ , ya’know,” Naruto stated firmly, “but I wasn’t exactly a star student, I barely graduated and the only reason I did was because my grandfather wouldn’t give up on me. If I’d been on my own, I’d have dropped out by middle school. So I don’t really like reading...”

Sasuke looked at the man inquisitively. “And yet you were going to try and research your family history alone?”

The blush that appeared on the whiskered cheeks gave Naruto a boyish look as if he’d just be caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Yeah, I was bound to fail from the start I guess, but I wanted to try.”

Sasuke sat down in his chair and grabbed a small notebook he usually kept with him in case he needed to remember something important he had discovered or thought of. “What’s your last name?”

“Oh! Uh...” Naruto bit his lip nervously before exhaling. “It’s Uzumaki.”

He looked up sharply, “Uzumaki?”

Naruto sheepishly grinned, scratching at his cheek with his pointer finger. “I guess you recognize it...” He had hoped, foolishly, that Sasuke wouldn’t recognize his name. He was enjoying how the raven man didn’t treat him like others did once they realized who he was, but he knew he’d eventually have to share his name if he wanted to learn about his family history.

“Hn.” Sasuke wrote down the blonde’s name, already making several notations for books to look at that he knew contained that last name. “Do you know of any living relatives? I don’t believe Uzumaki is a common last name.”

Naruto’s eyes brightened when he saw Sasuke wasn’t changing how he acted around him. “Um no, no living relatives.”

Sasuke smirked, “I believe you’re wrong there.”

“You do?”

He made another noncommittal noise, still writing notes. “I will have to double check first, but if you have some time today, I can pull a few books to look over.”

Naruto smiled widely, not even wincing when the movement pulled at his split lip. “Yeah! I’ve got a few hours if you do.”

Sasuke glanced at his watch, “I have a class at noon, but that gives us a little over an hour. Stay here.”

Naruto watched as the dark haired historian disappeared down an aisle and left him fidgeting from foot to foot as he waited. Looking at Sasuke’s desk, Naruto took in the very organized space and gleaned what he could of the man. It was obvious he was analytical and reserved, but seeing the desk told Naruto the man craved and needed control. Everything had a place, pens were stacked together—one red, one blue, one black—and a single pencil above the pens. There was a light he adjust to shine anyone on the desk and two bins for paperwork, Naruto guessed it was for his students as he saw an In and an Out box.

A few small books laid neatly on the edge of the desk and a picture next to them of a family of dark haired and pale skinned people. Naruto hunched down to look more closely, immediately recognizing the youngest as Sasuke, though he wore a wide smile as he hugged the leg of a teenager. The mother and father were behind them, smiling at the camera while the teenager stared down with an endearing smile at Sasuke. Obviously this was Sasuke’s family and Naruto couldn’t help but smile at the sweet picture.

The slamming of several books had Naruto jumping back in surprise and he looked up to see angry black eyes on him, Sasuke’s features twisted into a dark snarl. “What the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing?”

Naruto was taken aback by the venom in Sasuke’s voice. “I-I-I...”

“I can’t believe I offered to help you.” He growled, his anger turning into rage as he looked at the blonde. He should have known better, Naruto’s parents were probably still alive, hell maybe Jiraiya wasn’t even his godfather. He should have checked, the idiot was probably paparazzi trying to sneak pictures and wheedle information from him. “Get out.”

Naruto recovered from his shock as his own anger spiked. “What the hell, Sasuke?!” He yelled, “I didn’t break any of your precious rules and you said you’d help me!”

“I don’t care,” he spat back, “it was a lapse in judgment that I’m rectifying.”

“You’re a fucking bastard,” Naruto hissed, confused and hurt. He didn’t understand what he had done that could have pissed off the man so much, even if he had realized who Naruto was it shouldn’t have made him this angry! “I thought you...never mind, whatever, you want me gone, so I’ll go.”

He didn’t know what made him do it, but the blonde’s hurt sounded genuine and so as Naruto turned to leave, Sasuke reached out and grabbed his arm. “You thought I what?”

Naruto shrugged him off. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You haven’t held back yet, so don’t start now.” Sasuke goaded, watching angry blue eyes lock with his.

“Do you have fucking multiple personalities or something? You’re all over the emotional map and yours is damn stunted too.” He groused, but turned back to face Sasuke as the other waited silently with a thunderously dark scowl. “Look, I wasn’t trying to snoop or anything; I was just looking at your desk while waiting for you and saw the picture of your family. You all look...happy,” Naruto shrugged, “and I just thought you might be different than I expected.”

Sasuke stared at Naruto, trying to judge the sincerity of the blonde’s words before his eyes slid over to the picture on his desk. It had been taken only weeks before his happy life had been utterly shattered and he had lost everything. “Do you know who I am?”

The blonde looked at him like he was crazy, and maybe he was. “Yeah,” he said slowly like he was talking to a child, “you’re Sasuke.”

He rolled his eyes, glaring slightly, “My last name, dobe.”

Naruto’s face screwed up, his lips pursing together in a way that pulled at the whiskers on his cheeks, as he thought back to their conversations and then back to what Jiraiya said before he shook his head. “No, you didn’t say and Ji-san just called you Sasuke.”

“It’s Uchiha.”

Naruto just gazed at him, waiting for more of an explanation, but Sasuke simply crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his desk. “I’m assuming that’s supposed to mean something to me.”

The historian was genuinely surprised, his eyebrows disappearing beneath his bangs. “It doesn’t?”

“No, I mean it sounds familiar like I’ve heard it before, but I know we haven’t met before.” He shrugged nonchalantly, “Maybe Jiraiya has mentioned it in the past?”

Sasuke almost laughed. Naruto didn’t know, he had to be one of the _only_ people who didn’t know. While he wasn’t usually a good judge of character, he usually could detect deviousness or mal-intentions, but the blonde sounded authentic and truthful. “Most people try to get close to me because of my name, so when I saw you staring at the picture, I just assumed you were doing the same.”

“What are you, royalty?”

That arrogant smirk returned, “At one point in time.”

“What, seriously?” He yelled, face brightening with childish wonder.

“My family was second in line for the throne at one point and even a few of the empresses were Uchihas, but no male Uchiha ever reigned.”

“Hey, maybe I’ve got royalty too!” Naruto grinned; their sudden squabble forgotten as he returned to where Sasuke had dropped the books.

“No, your family wasn’t even nobility,” Sasuke said, watching the blonde’s expression falter, “but the Uzumaki clan was an interesting group of people.”

“Clan? We were a clan?” Naruto’s hunger to learn more about his family shown deep within his eyes, he knew next to nothing about his family history except what Jiraiya said, which often wasn’t much because the elder man would become too depressed whenever he asked. Naruto’s father had been his star pupil and the two had grown close over the years. His parents met at a dinner Jiraiya had hosted and soon were arguing over whether the Crank-Nicholson method or the Romberg method was best for numerical analysis—oh yes, both his parents would be so proud of their math hating son—and before anyone knew what happened, the fiery fights turned into romantic dates and they were soon married and expecting.

His father had died a few months before his birth in a hit and run and his mother died giving birth to him, both parents stolen from him before he even had a chance to know them. He had nothing but a few pictures, no memories to hold on to or anything that would help him bond with the people who gave him life.

Sasuke chuckled quietly at the unfettered joy in Naruto’s voice and pulled out the first book. “We can start here.”

The two spent the next hour studying the book, Sasuke translating most of it as Naruto sat with rapt attention to every word the raven haired historian said. At some point over the past hour Naruto had shed his jacket and cap and found a chair so he could sit down next to Sasuke. The smooth baritone of the historian’s voice was as soothing as it was seductive and Naruto found himself shifting closer and closer until their shoulders touched, neither noticing immediately as their attention was elsewhere.

Sasuke stopped abruptly as he suddenly felt much warmer than before. Looking up to find the blonde so close it had a flush run up his neck, but those brilliant blue eyes were focused on the page he had currently been translating. He didn’t know why he had chosen that book first, it meant more work for him, but it also contained a firsthand account from an Uzumaki writing about the clan. He knew it well, having helped one of his students research Uzumaki only a year prior and he wondered again whether the two were related by blood or not. They certainly didn’t look like each other—Naruto was blonde and tan with bright azure eyes, Karin was redheaded and pale with crimson eyes, though they both did have stark colored hair.

Naruto glanced from the page to Sasuke quizzically, “Why’d you stop?”

“I have to get to class.” He said, his voice slightly rough. Sasuke suddenly wished he had some water to cool his throat and body, but he refused to allow any liquids or foods around the rare books.

The rough edge to Sasuke’s baritone sent a frisson of lust through Naruto as he suddenly realized just how close they were. Feeling his face heat up, Naruto quickly moved away and put some space between them. “Right, I forgot you have class!” He picked up his coat from the floor where he had at some point dropped it and slid the bright orange jacket on. “So um...can I come back?”

Sasuke snorted, “Not without me.”

“I know that.” Naruto huffed, but the smile belied his annoyance. “Shit, I need to look at my schedule first. Hey, can I give you my number? Just text me and we can set up another date—not date!” The blonde suddenly flushed, wildly gesticulating, “I mean, it’ll be a calendar date, not a date-date, not that I’d be opposed to that, but uh...I’m just going to shut up now.” His face had continued to heat up more and more with every passing word much to Sasuke’s amusement and his dark eyes crinkled slightly with silent laughter.

“Sure, write your number down.” He smirked, handing over his small note pad and a pen. He watched as the flustered blonde penned his number and handed it back to him, his face still bright red.

“Um, thanks Sasuke, this was fun.” Naruto said, his voice reserved and cautious as if he thought Sasuke would retract his invitation, which wasn’t surprising considering how the historian had done just that from Naruto looking at a family picture. He fiddled with his jacket zipper as he hesitated between just walking away or waiting for Sasuke to acknowledge what he said, but after a few seconds of those dark eyes just staring at him, he finally turned away and headed back towards the elevators. He wanted to rush to them to simply get away from that penetrating gaze, but Sasuke’s threat of banning him if he so much as tripped repeated in his mind with every slow, calculated step he took.

Just as he stepped onto the elevator, he heard Sasuke’s deep baritone voice float across the little library. “It _was_ fun.” Naruto looked up as the doors began to close to find Sasuke only a few yards away, smirk firmly in place as those dark eyes of his bored into his own azure depths. A wide smile broke across Naruto’s face just before the doors closed and the elevator moved down to the ground level.

Dhampir  
Page 7  
2/4/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All that comes to mind right now is Taylor Swift's song Sparks Fly, with a little change, hehe: 
> 
> Get me with those blue eyes, baby  
> As the lights go down  
> Gimme something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
> 'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed! See you next Thursday!


	4. Thursday, July 18th/Wednesday, July 24th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their third meeting leaves more questions than answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thursday! 
> 
> Hello to all the new readers that have joined in so far and thanks for all the kudos ya'll have left. 
> 
> All you commenters are amazing ^_^

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters (except any originals), but the story idea is all mine!!

* * *

**Secret Love**   
_Chapter Four_

**Thursday, July 18th**

It had been over two weeks before Naruto got to see Sasuke again, while Sasuke kept busy, most of his time was spent researching and so Naruto’s schedule was more of a hindrance. He had gotten a ton of flack over his split lip and black eye and one of his best friends and manager, Shikamaru, had complained loudly about how much they were going to have to change around while Naruto’s face healed. Apparently his injuries looked worse than he had thought, or at least that’s how Shikamaru acted because the blonde was certainly they didn’t look _that_ bad.

But he had remained tight lipped about what happened or who gave him the injuries, keeping his promise to Sasuke about not telling _anyone_ that he was helping Naruto research his family. Eventually Shikamaru gave up stating it wouldn’t change anything anyway and Naruto had already made things extremely troublesome.

In retaliation, Shikamaru kept Naruto so busy he barely had time to breathe for the past two weeks until he finally got a chance to go to the library again and enjoy the quiet serene ambience it offered.

Naruto had excitedly stared at the text from Sasuke that said he’d be at the library all day and to just swing by whenever he was free. The thought of seeing the alluring historian again had Naruto practically thrumming with nervous excitement, even if the guy was a bastard half the time—okay ninety percent of the time. But he hadn’t been able to get raven haired professor out of his mind for the past two weeks, falling asleep almost every night to hearing Sasuke’s smooth baritone voice in his mind as he pictured the way those elegant fingers would carefully turn the pages and his tongue would dart out to lick his dry lips before starting at the top of the next page.

Jiraiya seemed offended that at Naruto’s first day off in fifteen days straight he made plans with Sasuke, but he couldn’t blame his godson as all he had talked about since his second trip to the library was what he had learned. Spending endless hours repeating back again and again what Sasuke had translated for him and discussing what life must have been like during the time of ninjas and clans.

It made the elder man feel guilty for not being able to share so many fond memories with Naruto who was so hungry to connect with his parents in some way, but every time he tried his throat would close up. Eventually Naruto stopped asking.

“Sasuke?” Naruto called—quietly to him, but it still boomed through the library as if he shouted at the top of his lungs.

He only had to wait seconds before the scowling historian appeared, finger already to his lips as he shushed Naruto. “You’re such a loudmouth, Uzumaki.”

Naruto ducked his head, blushing with embarrassment, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his lips. “Sorry, I was just excited to see you again.”

Sasuke looked sharply at the blonde, his eyebrows disappearing beneath his bangs as Naruto realized what he said.

The blush intensified, “I-I mean excited to see you so I can learn more about my clan.”

“Oh.” Sasuke turned away, letting his head drop slightly as if he was dejected, his hair hiding the devious smirk. “So you’re not happy to see me.”

At hearing the dejected tone, Naruto’s eyes widened in disbelief and he quickly reached out to grab Sasuke’s arm. “No! Of course I’m happy to see you too, really!”

Sasuke looked up with a rough laugh, a sound he didn’t make often. “You’re too easy, dobe.”

“What...?” Naruto frowned, perplexed at the mocking tone for a minute. “Oh, you’re such a bastard, teme! I thought you were really upset and felt like an absolute heel!”

Sasuke just shrugged, weaving his way through the bookshelves and collecting a few books on Uzumaki once again. He had already read them after their last encounter and weeded out the ones not worth Naruto’s time—not that he would ever tell the blonde that. He should have been working on the manuscript from Jugo that was still safely tucked away, but every time he took it out to study, he found his hands and eyes wandering back to the books on his desk. He eventually gave up, focusing his attention on the books with such avid cynosure that he even took two home so he could finish them before Naruto returned.

Naruto fidgeted while he followed sedately behind the stoic historian, feeling quite uncertain of where he stood with the handsome man. Obviously he thought Naruto was a bumbling idiot and considering how he kept stammering and blushing around Sasuke, he wasn’t surprised. He was known for his suave confidence and unflappable cheery disposition, but around Sasuke he became flustered and anything but suave. And yet…he had caught the man looking at him on occasion and he certainly didn’t seem disgruntled or unsettled when Sasuke grabbed his hand that one time or when Naruto sat so close to him they were practically sharing air. He knew with certainty that he was attracted to the elegant and reserved man, he doubted there were few who weren’t, Sasuke exuded sensuality and a promise of sybaritic pleasure to the one deemed worthy of the man’s attention. Whomever Sasuke allowed to warm his bed would be taken to heights of pleasure previously unknown, of that Naruto was certain and he could admit there was a part of him that _really_ wanted to be that bed warmer.

“Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to sit down, dobe?” Sasuke asked, amusement clear in his tone.

Naruto started and realized that they had reached Sasuke’s workstation, the historian already seated and twisted slightly so he could look at Naruto. His head was slightly cocked so that his bangs blocked one of his eyes, but Naruto could see the levity in the other as well as the way both corners of his lips were upturned into a smug smile. Naruto licked his lips before grinning back and teasing, “Hm, that is a difficult decision.”

A flash of surprise crossed Sasuke’s face before it disappeared and the raven historian snorted before he turned to the three books he had placed on his desk. “Stand or sit, it doesn’t matter to me. Do you want to continue with the same book or look at some others?”

“Do you mind translating more of the same book?” Naruto asked, perking up at the thought of following the journey of Fuso Uzumaki who had so far been writing about her childhood in Uzushiogakure.

Sasuke assumed he would want that one again if the fascination he held as Sasuke had read was any indication and, as usual, he wasn’t wrong. Yet as he turned the book to the page they had ended on, only a third of the way through the book, his hand stilled. “This…doesn’t end well, just so you know.” He glanced at Naruto as the blonde shrugged off his jacket and removed his hat and sunglasses as he had done last time before sitting down next to him.

Naruto shrugged, flashing that wide smile Sasuke saw often on the blonde. “Thanks for the warning, but I can handle it. I mean, this is like a thousand years old so it’s not really someone related to me like my parents were.”

The historian nodded and settled more into his seat as he began to translate once more, his cadence quiet and smooth. “By my twelfth summer I had already become a chunin and enjoyed traveling with my team on more challenging missions…”

Naruto immediately found himself immersed in not only the story, but also in Sasuke’s soft baritone and he listened closely as he once again found himself inching nearer and nearer until his shoulder was pressed right up against Sasuke’s. His eyes remained focused on the kanji written as Sasuke translated it effortlessly, but he heard the slight stumble when their shoulders touched and he fought hard to keep the smile off his face. Maybe the stoic man wasn’t as unaffected by his presence as he had thought, but he wasn’t willing to push the boundaries yet—it was only their third time meeting.

Time passed quickly and soon Sasuke’s voice grew hoarse after hours of reading, yet the stubborn man seemed intent on finishing the book, of which there were only a good twenty pages left. Naruto had shuffled closer, almost plastered against Sasuke’s side, when he had begun translating about the destruction of Uzushiogakure and the reticent historian found himself surprised when he didn’t want to immediately push the blonde away. Normally when people got too close to him, Sasuke had no issue shoving them away from his personal space, but when Naruto kept pressing closer Sasuke found that he wasn’t bothered by the blonde’s presence. But the thought that it didn’t bother him bothered him.

Naruto’s breath was suddenly right against his ear, the blonde quietly whispering, “Maybe we should stop for today, I don’t want you to lose your voice.”

Sasuke quickly agreed and closed the book, leaning away far enough to see the sultry expression on Naruto’s face. “Yes, I do have other work to complete.” He kept his voice free of any inflection and saw Naruto’s smile slightly waver.

“Oh, of course you do.” He sighed, he had just gathered up the courage to ask the handsome man out—hoping he was reading the signs correctly—but shot down before he could even ask. When Sasuke hadn’t moved away as Naruto moved closer, the blonde felt his confidence rise and that emboldened him to tease the gorgeous historian just a little. “I didn’t mean to keep you reading so long, but it’s just so mesmerizing to listen to.”

Sasuke kept his expression impassive and almost cold, but he gave Naruto a sidelong glance. “It is an interesting story.”

Naruto flashed a cocky grin, “Yeah, the story was good too.”

“Hn.” So the blonde was outright flirting with him now. He was quite certain from their previous interactions that Naruto was interested, but it was painfully obvious now.

At his less than enthused response, Naruto’s confidence faltered slightly, but the grin remained locked in place. “Next Wednesday, same time as today good for you?”

Sasuke nodded, gently setting the book down with the others.

Naruto leaned forward so that his mouth was next to Sasuke’s ear once more, “It’s a date.” His cheeks flushed slightly at the insinuation, but he didn’t correct himself this time as he stood up.

“Hn.” He studiously kept his eyes ahead of him, minutely straightening his already orderly desk while Naruto shrugged his jacket back on and replaced his cap and glasses. Sasuke bit his tongue to stop himself from asking why the idiot was wearing a jacket in July; it certainly wasn’t because he was cold as it was colder inside than it was outside. Even Boston summers were warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts, though Sasuke always felt cold and so rarely wore a t-shirt and never shorts.

“Hey…um…” Naruto shifted his weight as he waited for those depthless black eyes to look at him, but all he got was a quick glance before Sasuke’s attention was back on straightening his already straight desk. He almost let the question die, but he had never been cowardly before and he wasn’t about to start now. “Do you wanna grab a drink or…?” He let the question hang unfinished, okay so he _was_ intimidated, but who could blame him when he stood before such devastating perfection? He caught himself gnawing at him bottom lip as he waited with baited breath for Sasuke’s answer.

Sasuke frowned, but still refused to look at the blonde. Was Naruto asking him out on an actual _date_ or was he asking him to get some water because of how hoarse his voice had become? Regardless of what Naruto meant or how Sasuke’s heart sped up at the thought of a date with the handsome blonde, his answer would be the same. “No.” It came out harsh and angry and he immediately regretted it when he saw Naruto flinch out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, um, sorry for asking.” Naruto swallowed the dejection, forcing a light laugh, but it was hollow and flat. “I’m gonna…” He gestured towards the elevators even though Sasuke still wasn’t looking at him. “See you next week, Sasuke.”

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Naruto hurried away, kicking himself for misreading the stoic historian. The resounding “no” certainly wasn’t an easy let down, but it was a clear refusal. He didn’t know how he had so badly misread the man, but he just hoped he hadn’t offended Sasuke or made him uncomfortable. Even if his advances were rebuffed, Naruto found that he still wanted to be around the raven and hoped he hadn’t just made things too awkward between them. He’d find out next week.

* * *

**Wednesday, July 24th**

Unfortunately, when next week came Sasuke cancelled last minute.

_I have to cancel._

Naruto stared at the text message, fingers poised to respond, but uncertain of what to say. How could he ask if Sasuke was cancelling because of Naruto asking him out or not?

**_Are you okay?_** He finally typed, hitting send and waiting for the response, but after minutes ticked by it was obvious that Sasuke wasn’t going to, or couldn’t, respond. Naruto almost went to the university library just to see if Sasuke was there or not, but he felt that might be stalker-like and he didn’t want to piss the raven off more than he possibly already had.

He had just set his phone down when the ding of a new text message went off and Naruto was quick to grab it, only to let out a disappointed sigh when he saw it was from his manager, Shikamaru, asking him how the writing was coming along.

He quickly typed back a reply that it was getting there, which was a downright lie. Naruto had been too distracted every time he sat down with pen and paper, his mind filled with dark inky locks that he yearned to touch and see if they were as soft and silky as they looked and inquisitive black eyes that he wished he could see what they looked like when they were filled with lust and wanting.

Naruto groaned, he was definitely lusting after the man. Maybe staying away was a better idea, but…he didn’t _want_ to. Naruto laughed at himself, he sounded like a petulant child being denied his favorite toy—that thought brought another groan at the idea of Sasuke being his toy. He obviously had been spending way too much time with his grandfather this past week, the perverted man was rubbing off on him.

Another text from his manager told him Shikamaru knew he was lying, but hey, he had no right to get on Naruto’s case when the man was the laziest person he had ever met! But his genius made him an amazing manager and despite his procrastinating, he always got everything done and it usually turned out better than everyone thought.

He huffed in annoyance, but quickly shot back that he was going to work on it now before heading up the stairs of his childhood home to his room. He had an apartment in New York City, but considering he could write anywhere he had made the decision to go back home for a while. It had been a few years since he had gotten to spend any _real_ time with his grandfather and it hadn’t escaped him that Jiraiya was pushing seventy, even though the man looked and acted like he was in his fifties.

Tossing his phone on the full bed, he let out a deep sigh and sat down at his desk, blocking all thoughts of a particular striking historian from his mind and focusing on his work. He knew Shikamaru would be requesting proof by the end of the day and if he didn’t have _something_ , he’d get the lecture of the century.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he stared at Naruto’s message back. He had expected the blonde to tell him “okay” or make some joke about Sasuke avoiding him, not ask him if he was okay. And he didn’t know how to respond to that because no, he wasn’t okay, he was _far_ from okay, but Naruto was practically a stranger still and he wasn’t about to divulge that information.

He had actually woke up that morning feeling…not really excited, but apprehensive wasn’t the right word either. He had been looking forward to seeing Naruto again, an idea that he wasn’t completely comfortable with still, but was starting to grow on him. He couldn’t get the man’s bright expressive eyes out of his mind, the cerulean blue the complete opposite of his dark, brooding black eyes. He had even told his graduate students he wouldn’t be available today in preparation for Naruto—of course, that was just because he didn’t want anyone thinking there was something going on between them and had nothing to do with not wanting to be interrupted during their time together. Definitely not because of that.

Unfortunately he received a call at eight that morning that had changed his entire day, but he couldn’t ignore it. And so instead of driving to the University that was only twenty minutes from his house, he was driving the opposite direction to get out of the city and away from anyone who would ask questions. His blue BMW was flashy, but not overly so as he didn’t want to call additional attention to himself and the windows were tinted as dark as legally possible so that he could have privacy as he drove. He hated being bothered when he was driving, hell he hated being bothered _period,_ but it especially irked him when people tried to talk to him at a red light or take his picture.

As he took the roads out of Boston, his thoughts wandered back to Naruto and he tapped absentmindedly on his steering wheel. He couldn’t understand why the blonde was so different from everyone else he had ever dealt with, maybe it was the fact that he didn’t actually _know_ who Sasuke Uchiha was, but even before Sasuke knew that, he found himself inexplicably attracted to the winsome blonde in a way he hadn’t ever been before. At twenty six, he certainly had had lovers, though only one had lasted longer than three months and that was only because Sasuke had been too apathetic to end it—at seventeen sex is sex and so Sasuke was more interested in having sex than a relationship, it was just easier to be trusting with someone he knew instead of looking for one night stands.

And he was, for once, intrigued by the blonde. He was used to advances and usually either accepted or spurned them and the lust he felt when he saw Naruto remove his jacket the first time certainly made it clear he found the blonde attractive. While it was obvious Naruto dressed for comfort, his jeans had been snug around that tapered waist and while the white and orange t-shirt he wore was loose, but it still fit him enough that Sasuke could make out the strong, broad shoulders on the blonde.

Then when they had gotten into their fist fight, Sasuke had not only been impressed with how well Naruto fought for not having any professional training, but he also got to feel the hard muscle hidden beneath the loose shirts and feel the power behind his punches. It had captivated him and yet he still responded as if Naruto had repulsed him. Of course, considering here he was driving out of Boston because of the disaster that was his life, maybe it was better if Naruto thought he wasn’t interested.

He drove straight on for over an hour before he finally pulled into a parking lot and once more looked at his phone, the lone text message from Naruto almost mocking him. He was tempted to answer, but he couldn’t get his fingers to type out an answer and eventually he gave an aggravated scoff at his vacillation, angrily slamming his phone onto the passenger seat. Sliding from his car, he locked and alarmed it before looking at the concrete building before him, it wasn’t beautiful like the old buildings around Boston with their intricate designs and scrollwork, but it was efficient and had beautiful gardens and large windows that let in plenty of sunlight.

He stamped down the roiling emotions and carefully wiped any emotion from his face, his expression a mask of perfected stoicism and icy indifference. He shoved his hands into his pockets and solemnly walked towards the door, taking the twelve steps leading up to it nimbly. There was a click as soon as he approached the door and he quietly entered, stopping at the desk to show his ID to the receptionist before moving down the meandering halls that the slightly shocked woman had pointed him towards.

Sasuke scowled, he hated the looks he received, hated it even more than the numerous propositions for dates he collected. He didn’t want their pity or worse, their admiration for something he didn’t even do. A few people looked at him as he passed, furious whispers following him, but he stubbornly paid them no mind as he approached the room the receptionist told him to go to.

Finally stopping before Room 307, Sasuke took a moment to collect himself before pushing the door open. The bland room was white—white walls, white floors, white chairs, white table, white everything except for the three people in the room. Two of them were restraining the third, who was panting with exertion while blood dripped down the side of his mouth unnoticed. At the door opening, all three looked up to where Sasuke stood, but those dark unreadable eyes were only looking at one person.

Limp black hair fell loose around his face, blacker than Sasuke’s and lacking the blue highlights. Pale skin and soulless black eyes that matched Sasuke’s looked straight at the historian as the restrained man chuckled maliciously, lips upturning into a hateful sneer. “Otouto,” he said, his voice deep and insidious as he strained against his captors, “what brings my foolish little brother here?”

Dhampir  
Page 9  
2/10/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Don't kill me!**
> 
> I'm not sure how many of you saw that ending coming, but hey, Naruto gathered the courage to ask Sasuke out, even if he got shot down. Poor Naruto, good thing he doesn't give up easily ^_~
> 
> See you next Thursday! ^_^


	5. Wednesday, July 31st/Friday, August 9th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thursday! It's snowing here, but it's so pretty ^_^

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters.

* * *

**  
  
Secret Love**  
_Chapter Five_

**Wednesday, July 31st**

Naruto licked his dry lips as the elevator doors opened and he stepped into the restricted level of the library. He was more nervous than he should be, but it had been a week since Sasuke had cancelled and while he certainly didn’t know the debonair historian well at all, he knew that something was wrong when Naruto had talked to him.

He wasn’t sure if the historian would pick up when he called, but Naruto couldn’t help but worry when after a whole day had passed and Sasuke still hadn’t responded to his text. The subsequent three texts he had sent over the course of two more days had also gone unanswered and Naruto finally cracked. He called Sasuke, his mind already making up various ways the raven man had died or how he was lying in a hospital bed as some unknown John Doe.

But Sasuke _had_ answered and Naruto had never heard someone sound so exhausted. Naruto knew exhaustion, he had worked himself to the bone and passed out from an inability to keep his eyes open for even a second longer more than once, but when Sasuke answered it was with a soul weary cadence. His voice had lacked its normal controlled impassivity and he sounded absolutely wrecked.

When Naruto hesitantly asked if he was okay, silence was his only answer. It was obvious that Sasuke wasn’t, but the reserved historian wasn’t about to voice that aloud. So Naruto did the next best thing he could think of and asked if there was anything he could do, whether Sasuke was at the hospital and needed a ride home or just needed some company.

The soft “no, there’s nothing” had worried Naruto the most because it sounded so hopeless, something so contradictory to the arrogant historian Naruto knew.

He had offered once more before asking if they could meet next Wednesday and Sasuke acquiesced before quickly ending the call. Naruto wondered if he had even looked before answering, he had a feeling that if Sasuke realized it was Naruto who was calling the bastard wouldn’t have answered at all.

Naruto was sorely tempted to look Sasuke up to see if he could discover more about the quiet historian, but he didn’t want to color their tenuous relationship with gossip. He knew firsthand how poisonous gossip could be and had more than one person judge him based on what others had said. He didn’t want to do the same with Sasuke. He wanted to learn about the man from only what Sasuke was willing to share with him personally.

Now he would get to see the raven with his own eyes and discover if Sasuke was really all right or not. He didn’t wait for Sasuke to come to him this time, instead he headed to the middle of the library where he knew Sasuke’s workstation was, already removing his hat and sunglasses so he could see clearly. He could see the black head of hair already seated there and immediately noticed that the chair he usually sat in next to Sasuke had been moved to the side of the desk furthest from the historian. 

Naruto felt disappointment gnaw at him, but he plastered his brightest smile on his face and began to unzip his jacket as if the chair’s placement wasn’t an obvious rejection. “Hey Sasuke!” He cheerily called, shrugging the jacket off and hanging it on the back of the chair before he plopped into it.

Sasuke glanced at him, but otherwise gave no indication of noticing the blonde, his eyes returning to the book in front of him as if Naruto were just a gnat of little significance.

He frowned and looked the man over, taking in the slightly paler skin as well as the dark circles under his eyes that told Naruto he hadn’t been sleeping well, if at all. His hair was fairly greasy and there were stress lines along the sides of his nose that made him look much older than he usually did. “Oi, bastard, don’t ignore me.” He hissed lowly, slightly kicking the desk.

The raven man just turned the page of his book without a word.

Naruto felt anger building within him, if the bastard hadn’t wanted him to come, then he should have said so instead of wasting his time and making him come to the library to stare at his sorry ass. Leaning forward, he shoved Sasuke’s shoulder, but the man continued to ignore him as if he wasn’t there at all.

It wasn’t until Naruto waved his hand in front of Sasuke’s face obnoxiously that the historian responded by gripping his wrist painfully tight and shoving it away from him. “Leave me alone.” He growled, murderously glaring at the blonde.

“Why the hell did you tell me to come then?” He yelled, uncaring that he was supposed to be quiet—it wasn’t one of Sasuke’s damn rules anyway. “If your plan was to ignore me, then fucking man up and tell me so I don’t waste my time coming here in the first place!”

“I’m _so_ sorry to waste your precious time.” Sasuke mocked, scoffing as he returned to his book, knowing the lack of attention goaded the blonde.

“You are a fucking prick, Uchiha.” Naruto spat, but his tone was more hurt than angry. Shoving away from the desk, the items atop it precariously rocking with the jolt, Naruto stood up and gathered his belongings. “When you’re done being a complete bastard, call me.” He said, angrily glaring at Sasuke. “Can’t believe I was worried about your frigid black hearted ass.”

Sasuke almost didn’t hear the last sentence as Naruto muttered it under his breath, but he just stared at the book in his hands and ignored the stomping footsteps that were quickly receding. Why Naruto would worry about him made no sense to him. They weren’t friends, they weren’t even acquaintances really, but the blonde had worried about him enough to not only text him multiple times, but to call him as well.

Not even his own graduate students that he’d been working with all summer had reached out when he didn’t show up for five days straight. He had left a message for Jiraiya that he would be out of town due to a ‘family emergency’ and the man hadn’t even called him back. Yet his godson, _Naruto,_ kept badgering him, asking if he was okay, asking if he wanted Naruto to come over or help him and Sasuke didn’t understand _why_.

Even his lovers had never been ones to want to actually _help_ him, not that Sasuke ever _asked_ for help anyway, but the people he usually slept with were only in it for the pleasure like he was and not for an actual relationship. But here Naruto was asking what he could do and the only thing Sasuke could wonder was _what does he want in return?_

Was he looking to impress Sasuke for sex? Was he trying to get close so he could learn more about Sasuke? About his family? What other reasons would he have? The only person who had ever offered to help him was Jugo and even that was only in the context of their jobs.

His concentration shot, Sasuke closed the book gently before clenching his hand into a fist. What he really wanted to do was slam the book closed and throw it across the room, but he wasn’t about to do that to a 1,500 year old book that only two known copies existed of.

Running his fingers through his hair, Sasuke grimaced at the greasy, tangled locks and wondered why he had even shown up today knowing he was going to ignore the blonde. It would’ve been a lot easier to ignore him if he had just stayed home, as far as Jiraiya knew he wasn’t even back in town yet, and yet he still showed up at the library.

Of course, he knew why, he just didn’t want to admit it really. He needed someone to lash out at and Naruto made an easy target for his anger. Of course, he half expected the blonde to start a fight with him and he wanted the fight, but Naruto hadn’t jumped at the bait because in the end the blonde was more hurt than angry. He knew Naruto was at least interested in sex with him and so that made hurting him all the more sadistic. And that made Sasuke an absolute asshole and he knew it.

Thinking back on Naruto’s parting words, Sasuke suddenly chortled, a small smirk on his lips for the first time in a week. The blonde said to call him when he was done being a “complete bastard”, so obviously Naruto knew it too. The blonde certainly was different than anyone else Sasuke had ever known and he wasn’t certain what to do with that knowledge…

* * *

**Friday, August 9th**

Almost two weeks had passed before Naruto finally heard from Sasuke. He almost didn’t believe the text was from him when he saw Sasuke’s name pop up with a message. Over the past week he had found himself typing a message to the bastard only to delete it and make himself busy with other things to keep his mind off the handsome asshole.

It was now the end of the first week of August and Shikamaru had been badgering him about when he would be returning to New York, but Naruto hadn’t even gotten to scratch the surface of his ancestry thanks to a certain reclusive but sexy as hell historian.

If it had been anyone else, Naruto would have just gone to the library on his own, damn the rules, but he had avoided the place all together because he was avoiding Sasuke like the plague. Half of him wanted to see the handsome man, but the other half of him was concerned whether he’d try to kiss or punch Sasuke’s mouth the next time he saw him, which is why he hadn’t answered the bastard yet.

_Can you meet tomorrow around 10?_

Sasuke was even asking him, unlike the other times where he just told Naruto when he’d be in and left it up to the blonde to show up or not, but Naruto kept typing and erasing his responses, uncertain of what he should say.

_It’s a yes or no question, dobe, stop thinking so hard._

Naruto’s eyes widened in surprise when Sasuke’s message appeared. How the hell did Sasuke know…?

_When you’re typing I see an ellipsis._

What the _hell_ was an ellipsis?

_Ellipsis is … idiot._

Was he a mind reader now too? Anger sparked and Naruto furiously typed back **_I see you’re still being a bastard, teme._**

_Of course, you told me to contact you when I was done being a “complete bastard”. Otherwise you’d never hear from me again._

Naruto chuckled despite his annoyance; he could even hear the arrogant tone through text. **_Actually I told you to CALL me when you were done being a complete bastard, so ha!_**

As soon as the message showed read, Naruto’s phone rang, the sound shocking him so much he actually flung his phone in surprise. “Oh shit!” He quickly scooped it off the floor where it had clattered across the hardwood floors and answered, “Hello?”

_“Is this up to your standards now, dobe?_ ” Sasuke taunted, an insufferable sigh following.

Naruto’s lips curled into a wide smile and he huskily chuckled, “Yeah bastard, it is.”

There was a slight pause, _“So?”_

“Ten in the morning or ten at night?”

Sasuke scoffed, _“Only a serial killer would tell you to come to the library after it’s closed.”_

“I’m sure you have a key,” Naruto teased, “you’re probably in there until midnight anyway.”

_“I have my own library to do that in.”_ He murmured and Naruto perked up at the historian sharing something personal with him. The blonde could even picture Sasuke dressed in pajamas, slippers on his feet as he sat curled up on some kind of settee, or whatever the hell those weird seats were called, with a book. He liked the mental picture much more than he wanted to admit and it was surprisingly easy for him to imagine himself there with Sasuke.

Naruto gnawed on his bottom lip as he carefully chose his words, but they still came out huskily with a note of desire. “Maybe you’ll have to show it to me one day.” 

The silence stretched just long enough for Naruto to wonder if he made another mistake before Sasuke’s chuckle filtered through the phone, making Naruto shiver at the sound. _“Maybe.”_

“Really?!” He yelled excitedly, smiling so big his cheeks hurt. He had been certain Sasuke would immediately say no.

“ _Dobe_.” Sasuke huffed, but Naruto could hear the amusement in his voice. “ _You still haven’t told me yes or no.”_

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say this _almost_ sounds like a date, teme.”

“ _Good thing you know better.”_ Sasuke interjected, laced with annoyance. “ _I’m losing my patience.”_

_“_ I’ll be there,” he laughed, “ten tomorrow.”

A noncommittal noise came through the phone that if Naruto didn’t know any better he would’ve thought was a relieved sigh.

“Neh, Sasuke...” a sly smile came to Naruto’s lips, “if you saw the elli-whatevers that told you I was typing and shit, does that mean you were staring at your phone, waiting for my reply all that time?”

_“...Hn. See you tomorrow, dobe.”_

Naruto’s boisterous laughter filled the room before Sasuke even hung up and for the next few hours _nothing_ could erase the large smile from his face—not even Shikamaru’s annoyed texts about Naruto’s lack of work.

* * *

When Naruto saw Sasuke this time, the handsome historian looked much better. His hair was clean and styled, the dark circles beneath his eyes were gone and _most_ of the stress lines had disappeared. Dark eyes looked up when Naruto approached and that ever present smirk almost became a smile for just a millisecond.

The library had seemed even more eerily quiet than usual because despite it being open, it was a Sunday and summer, so Naruto hadn’t seen a single student in the lower level. It felt distinctly different being alone with Sasuke with the building being almost completely empty even though they were always alone on the upper floor. Or maybe the difference was the tension between them.

Sasuke had already pulled the Uzumaki books and set them up on his desk, but he also had the book out that Naruto recognized from last time, though as soon as the blonde approached he serendipitously closed it and slid it out of Naruto’s line of sight.

The blonde’s eyes lit up and his smile widened when he saw his chair was back next to Sasuke. He quickly shed his jacket and sat down before the bastard would change his mind and move it, of course Sasuke could always move, but Naruto knew he was too stubborn for that.

The chair creaked and rocked with the force Naruto sat down and Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Don’t break the chair, dobe. You don’t get another.”

Naruto scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. “Please don’t tell me the chair is 600 years old or something.”

The historian snorted, “No, it’s only 150.”

_Only_ 150 years old, like that was any better, Naruto thought as he carefully eased himself back, suddenly worried it would break beneath him. “I’m bringing my own chair from now on, one of those collapsible ones that I won’t feel guilty about breaking.”

“No you won’t.” Sasuke gave him a withering glance.

“Why not?” Naruto whined.

“You’ll ruin the ambiance of my domain.”

“ _Ambiance?”_ Naruto sputtered with a snorted laugh. “You’ve got electricity and pens instead of candles and ink pots—“

“Those are safety measures,” Sasuke dismissed Naruto’s points away, “we are surrounded by rare and priceless books, a fire from someone’s candle or a ruined manuscript from spilt ink would be irreparable.”

“But my priceless ass doesn’t get the same safety measures?” Naruto grinned, leaning towards Sasuke so he was just slightly in the gorgeous historian’s space.

Those fathomless black eyes slowly ran down Naruto’s form before a sensuous grin appeared, Sasuke’s head tilting slightly as he locked gazes with Naruto. “I would have to appraise your ass personally before I could say it’s priceless.”

Lust slammed into Naruto with such ferocity that it stole his breath as he white knuckled the antique arm rests of his chair. The way Sasuke had crooned those words had affected him in a way no one ever had and he was using every ounce of control to not just throw caution to the wind and fling the insanely sexy man before him to the ground and ravage him. Of course having fought Sasuke, he knew the lissome historian could just as easily flip them over and ravage _him._ A thought that had his arousal stirring as he took a shuddering breath.And with the way Sasuke leaned back into his chair, his stance relaxed as his legs spread open a little more, the dark minx knew exactly what he had done to Naruto.

The air crackled with tension and desire as the two stared each other down, Naruto’s lust dilated depths had darkened as an almost predatory expression had overtaken his normally smiling face. He _wanted_ Sasuke, wanted to consume the reclusive man in a way he’d never wanted anyone else. Hell, he’d only known the bastard for technically two months and had only seen him four times, and two of those times were for mere minutes, but his thoughts had been completely consumed by the irresistibly seductive historian. His body screamed at him to plunge his fingers into the inky black locks and pull Sasuke’s mouth to his even as his brain yelled at him it wasn’t a smart idea. Sasuke was an inferno of smoldering eroticism; Naruto would be burned to death, but how sweet and hot would that death be wrapped in Sasuke’s arms. Hell, Sasuke would be the one consuming _him_ , not the other way around!

Sasuke was putting up a calm demeanor, one of almost perfect indifference, but he never could hide his emotions from his eyes and he knew his were just as dilated as Naruto’s. He wanted the blonde just as much as Naruto wanted him, but just as with their fist fight, neither wanted to be the one to yield first, to be the one that gave in to the almost tactile attraction between the two. The past two weeks he had tried to push the blonde from his mind and it had utterly failed. Sasuke found his thoughts constantly pulled towards whiskered cheeks, tanned skin, impossibly blue eyes and the hard muscled body he had felt beneath him once. Especially the latter thought, Naruto’s body had plagued him more often than he could count, how it would look under him, over him, pressed against him, and maybe even within him and Sasuke could count on one hand with half his fingers missing how often he bottomed. That the idea didn’t bother him when he thought of being fucked by Naruto intrigued Sasuke even more, made the blonde even more alluring. 

And now, Sasuke had just made it abundantly clear that he desired Naruto too and he was curious to see what the blonde would do, how far could he actually push him before Naruto’s control snapped—and he was _certain_ Naruto would snap before he would. He wanted to watch it crack, especially after seeing the possessive hunger on the blonde’s face.

“You can appraise my ass any time.” Naruto said thickly, his voice gutturally rough as he pinned Sasuke where he sat with those azure depths.

Sasuke exhaled forcefully, suddenly feeling much too hot and slightly dazed as his own arousal spiked sharply. His own control was waning and he discovered he didn’t care, he didn’t care who yielded to whom or who made the first move because all he wanted was to devour the man before him in totality. Sasuke licked his dry lips, smirking as Naruto’s eyes dropped to follow the slide of his tongue and reveling in the almost silent groan the blonde made as his tongue disappeared once more.

And then they were moving, both pulled towards each other as Naruto’s hands threaded through silky stygian locks, his hands fisting it painfully tight as Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s shirt and yanked the blonde to him, their lips so close they could taste each other in the air they breathed. Naruto leaned his forehead against Sasuke’s, a soft smile pulling at his lips as he moved to seal their mouths together—

“Professor Uchiha?” 

Sasuke shoved Naruto away, the blonde falling backwards and toppling the chair with the force he had been pushed. The raven historian shot a half apologetic half promise of death if he _dared_ make a sound look at Naruto as he disappeared between the high shelves towards whoever had called out to him. Naruto lay on his back, still half in the chair, and stared at the ceiling wondering why the gods hated him so much as to ruin such a perfect moment.

Sasuke’s smooth baritone carried quietly across the library as he talked to the student who had to obviously be one of Sasuke’s graduate students if they had a key to the restricted floor and Naruto groaned as his erection twitched at the sensual cadence. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Hide until the student left or try to sneak out? Because meeting Sasuke’s student with a hard on certainly wouldn’t win him any points with the downright provocative historian, and Naruto definitely wanted to win Sasuke.

Dhampir  
Page 9  
2/18/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and reviews! It's really nice hearing from readers ^_^


	6. Friday, August 23rd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is going to give in first?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Thursday! ^_^ 
> 
> **Question of the Day:** What's your favorite fanfiction ever? 
> 
> Mine would be Heero's Fourth (Gundam Wing by Dyna Dee), I love that one.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters.

* * *

**Secret Love  
** _Chapter Six_

**Friday, August 23rd**

Sasuke stared at the manuscript that Jugo sent him for the first time in near a month. Normally once he received something like this he wouldn’t let it go until he solved the puzzle, but he had received the manuscript the same day Naruto had literally fell into his life. And every time he took out the manuscript, his thoughts would eventually wander to a certain bright blonde haired man whose clear cerulean eyes would darken to cobalt blue when he was taken by desire. A look Sasuke had come to recognize quite well over the past few weeks.

Ever since their almost kiss, the two had been dancing around each other and testing to see what the other would do. They would shift closer together, their fingers would brush against each other, ghosting breaths, thrown innuendoes and bedroom eyes used, but neither had made a move. Instead, they kept the tension rising, the desire almost palatable, as they continued to push each other more and more, but Sasuke was beginning to tire of cold showers and his right hand.

His rising sexual frustration had Sasuke just about ready to throw the student who had interrupted their almost kiss out of his graduate program and if it wouldn’t be flagged as an abuse of his power, he would have done it already. He just needed a good excuse first. Regardless, Suigetsu was definitely getting an F on his next paper; Sasuke didn’t care if he found the lost city of Atlantis himself or wrote his dissertation in fucking _gold_ , Sasuke was failing his ass.

“Hey Sasuke.” Naruto’s husky voice came from behind him before fingers teasingly trailed across his shoulder blades. Naruto came into view as Sasuke looked up, surprised to see the blonde when it wasn’t their normal days. It was Friday and they usually met Wednesdays and Sundays, so Sasuke blinked slowly just to make sure he wasn’t having some weird eye strain mirage. But mirages don’t talk so…

“What are you doing here?” Sasuke shot him a perplexed look.

Naruto shrugged as he leaned back against Sasuke’s workstation, his hands gripping the edge loosely. “I’ve been thinking about you and I knew you’d be here because you’re _always_ here, so I figured I’d come visit.”

The easy smile he gave the raven historian made him return it for half a second before he schooled his expression. “Well, you’ve found me as you rightly predicted. Do you get a prize?”

That smile turned lascivious as Naruto’s eyes dropped to Sasuke’s lips, “That depends on you.”

He let his eyes rove over the blonde’s body, noticing how Naruto had chosen a much more fitted black shirt today and had finally foregone his garish orange jacket. Actually, Sasuke noticed, he wasn’t wearing his cap either and his sunglasses here perched on the top of his head. The dark wash blue jeans clung to his hips and were snug across the crotch, but slightly baggy in the leg; much different from the times Naruto had arrived in what was probably most comfortable instead of what was most stylish.

“Like what you see?” Naruto grinned, leaning forward slightly.

“Hn.” Sasuke smirked, leaning back in his seat to keep the distance between them and he almost chuckled at the slight pout appearing on Naruto’s lips. “It’s certainly an improvement over that orange monstrosity you call a jacket.”

“Hey!” The blonde protested vehemently, “That jacket has been with me through thick and thin and I’m _never_ parting with it. I got it on an amazing deal when I had no money!”

The historian snorted, crossing his legs as he amusedly watched Naruto. “No matter what you paid, it was too much. Unless someone paid _you_ twenty bucks just to take it, you overpaid.”

“You’re such a bastard, Sasuke.” But he was chuckling, a lopsided smile appearing. “So…”

Sasuke raised an elegant brow in question.

Naruto cleared his throat, “So I was thinking last night that I really don’t know anything about you.” Seeing the heartachingly handsome historian’s face go blank had Naruto speaking faster. “I feel it’s unfair, I mean you recognized my name and I told you my age and we’ve been doing all this research about my clan, so you definitely know more about me than I know about you.”

Calculating dark eyes narrowed as Sasuke tried to read the blonde. It was obvious Naruto was nervous about how he would react, he had pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth as his brow furrowed and his fingers nervously tapped the underside of Sasuke’s workstation where he was now tightly gripping. “What can you ask me that I’m certain you haven’t read online?”

“Um…everything?” He uneasily said, his voice lilting up at the end. “I, uh, didn’t look you up.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sasuke spat, crossing his arms over his chest as his glare intensified.

Naruto shot him a wavering smile. “I didn’t want to learn about you like that, it’s impersonal and oftentimes the information isn’t even accurate. I wanted to learn about you from you and what you want to tell me, not from what others tell me.” 

The historian studied Naruto with an inscrutable look. “You’re saying you don’t know _anything_ about me.”

“Well I know _some_ things,” the blonde grinned, “you’re reserved, you’re reclusive, you’re secretive—if I’d have to guess—about your life, you’re a downright bastard most of the time, but you have a wicked sense of humor that is scathingly sarcastic.” Naruto let his eyes very obviously wander as those depths turned cobalt blue and sparked with lust. “And you’re hot as hell.”

Sasuke smirked and drawled, “What else is there to know?”

“Lots of stuff!” Naruto answered excitedly, brightly smiling at Sasuke as he slid his bottom up to sit on the table, legs dangling and lightly swinging as if the blonde was four instead of twenty four. “Like your favorite food, favorite color, what movies do you like, what music do you listen to, I’d ask what you like to read,” he teased, “but I probably already know that.”

He chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Rice balls and tomatoes are my favorite foods. My favorite color is zaffre—”

“ _Zaffre?_ ” The blonde asked skeptically.

“Yes, zaffre, it’s a real color.” Sasuke pointed looked at Naruto, as if daring the man to make him prove it and for a moment it looked like the blonde was going to, but then he let out a chortle and just shook his head.

“Okay, zaffre, I know better than to argue with the Professor.” Naruto waggled his eyebrows.

“I like documentaries and I usually listen to classical music if I’m going to listen to music at all.”

Naruto nodded, absorbing the information before he gave Sasuke a sidelong glance. “We need to get you out more.”

“ _We?_ ”

“Okay, _I_ need to get you out more.”

“No.” Sasuke said flatly, his eyes returning to the manuscript he was supposed to be working on.

“What?” Came the whine. “Why not?”

“That would defeat the purpose of being a recluse.” His tone was as dry as the 2,000 year old manuscript in front of him.

“Come on, Sas, you gotta live a little!” Naruto grinned as Sasuke glanced at him at the nickname, “I promise to show you a good time.”

Heavily lidded eyes met his as the historian darkly smirked, “You can do that with some condoms, lube and a hotel room.”

Minutes ticked by as Naruto fought his libido, that Sasuke riled up way too easily and way too often recently, and Sasuke returned to studying the manuscript while cross referencing a few books he had laid out on his table. By the time Naruto felt enough blood returning to form coherent words, he realized that Sasuke had become completely engrossed in the manuscript and he’d have been pissed if it wasn’t so charming to watch.

One of Sasuke’s gloved hands followed along the manuscript while the other hand flipped the pages of a history book, that intense stare fixated on figuring out the secrets that it might spill to the one smart enough to unlock them. Every now and again, the historian’s tongue would dart out to wet his lips and his brow would furrow when he’d puzzle over a translation and Naruto found it all endearing.

And so, pulling up one leg and wrapping his arms around it, Naruto set his cheek on his knee and silently watched Sasuke work. He wanted to know more about the quiet historian, but he’d bide his time and for now enjoy observing the seductive raven in his element.

* * *

The hours passed and for the first time in his life, Naruto remained still and quiet, content to just watch with rapt attention. “Can you tell me what you’re doing?” Naruto asked, pulling Sasuke away from where he had begun to go in circles again. The blonde had been so quiet the raven had almost forgotten he was there.

He cocked his head as he studied Naruto; the blonde was leaning towards him, eyes looking curiously at the manuscript. This was the second time Naruto had asked about his work and Sasuke still wasn’t certain if the blonde was _actually_ interested. Not many people outside of those pursuing a degree in ancient history cared about the intricacies of what it meant to be a historian. “What do you want to know?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Naruto’s eyes lit up and he smiled at Sasuke as he scooted closer, though being certain he remained far away from the ancient manuscript. “I guess…the basics? Like, why do you where the white gloves? I’ve only seen magicians where those kinds.”

He snorted, “They are cotton gloves that keep the oil on our fingers from transferring to the paper. Most of these rare artifacts are made of much more absorbent paper and so they soak in the oil on our skin and over time it can break down or ruin the artifact.”

“Are they white so you can see how much dust has collected on them?” The blonde joked, lopsided smile in place.

“No, it’s because they don’t come in black.” Sasuke retorted acerbically and causing Naruto to boisterously laugh, to which Sasuke quickly shushed him.

He ducked his head guiltily. “So what happens once you figure this manuscript out? Did you find out about the emperor?”

“There is only one word that is a problem, but it changes the entire decree.” The historian continued to explain, his fingers already flipping through another historical book. “It is obvious someone tried to change it, but the question is which word had been written first? Once I discover that answer, I will have to write a paper about it and publish it, which will allow others to review my work and request a chance to see the manuscript. They will then agree or disagree with me.”

“How often do they disagree with you?”

Sasuke shot Naruto an arrogant grin. “Not often.”

The blonde laughed as he imagined the look of horror on the person’s face who decided to go up against the Uchiha and saw exactly what that person was actually up against. He knew better than anyone that the striking historian was not one to toe the line or be cowed. “God, you’re so fucking sexy when you’re arrogant.” The compliment slipped out before Naruto even realized what he was saying, but at Sasuke’s startled look and the words catching up to his brain, Naruto flushed scarlet.

The raven’s startled look quickly morphed into one of salacious fervor as that arrogant grin widened. “Ah, so you _do_ like it when I’m a bastard.”

“…maybe…” he shifted his weight, obviously flustered as his eyes watched Sasuke warily.

“And what else do you like?” His attention was now fully on the blonde, the manuscript once again forgotten as his voice dropped an octave. “Hm, _Naruto?_ ”

Despite his embarrassment, Naruto never was one to back down and so fighting down his blush, he gave a toothy grin at the sinfully beguiling man. “I like how you rake your fingers through your hair when your bangs get in your eyes.”

“Hm. They are overdue for a trim.” Sasuke murmured.

“ _No!_ ” The blonde protested before he reached out and curled a section of Sasuke’s bangs around his finger. “I like them like this.”

“And what else do you like?” He prompted again as Naruto pulled him to come closer by that lock of hair.

“The way your eyes spark when you’ve learned something new or discovered something important. Or how your brow furrows when you’re perplexed. How you rub them away with your fingers so gently while you let out a little relieved groan.” Naruto murmured, leaning towards Sasuke who had been rendered speechless. The things the blonde was listing were little things that a lover would notice and nothing like he had expected to hear. It was becoming obvious that Naruto’s interest in him went beyond the physical and Sasuke found it both scintillating and frightening. Few people saw past his looks and name. “How gracefully you walk, like some panther stalking through the forest and the sound of your voice as you read, _especially_ your voice,” Naruto groaned, leaning ever still closer, his eyes darkening as his thoughts turned more depraved and he let his finger drop the lock of hair and follow the outline of Sasuke’s cheekbone. “And how your tongue slides along your teeth when you’re turned on or the way you can have me aroused with a single heated look…”

“Dobe…” Sasuke whispered gutturally, those dark eyes darkening to an almost pitch black as he upturned his face to where they were only inches apart. “You’re about to put your hand on a 2,000 year old manuscript.”

Ice flowed through Naruto’s veins and he quickly jerked away, his fingers had slid across half the workstation as he had been leaning in towards Sasuke. “Please don’t kill me, Sasuke! I didn’t actually break your rule, just came close!” He pleaded, certain the raven historian was going to be angry, but instead Sasuke just laughed— _actually laughed_ and Naruto was certain he’d never forget the silky sound as he watched the man’s face instantly become younger as mirthful laughter echoed around him.

“You’re such an idiot.” Sasuke shook his head as he chuckled in a more controlled way. The blonde gave him a cheeky grin that had Sasuke rolling his eyes at him. “Get off my desk before you fall on it and I _do_ have to kill you.”

Naruto carefully slid off, watching the placement of his hands, before he disappeared to grab his normal chair. He tilted his head is silent askance and when Sasuke only snorted, Naruto took that as permission to put the chair down as close as possible to the historian. “Neh, Sasuke… how old are you, when’s your birthday? You already know I’m 24.”

The raven had just finished placing the manuscript back in its protective sleeve when Naruto asked his question and Sasuke gave him a sidelong glance, trying to decide if he should deflect or answer. Of course, that was something the blonde could easily discover with a simple internet search, but oddly Naruto didn’t want to do that. Sasuke found that appealing because it meant he could keep the blonde and his life separate for at least a while, maybe long enough to see where things could go. “July 23rd. I just turned 26.”

The blonde smiled gratefully before he realized that Sasuke’s birthday was a little over four weeks ago, “Well then, I owe you a birthday dinner and a present.”

He snorted, sliding the manuscript into the drawer of his desk. “No you don’t. I don’t ever do anything for my birthday, not since I was a child at least.”

Naruto frowned at that, “Then you’re long past due for it.”

“No, I’m not.” Sasuke snapped, giving the blonde a warning glance. “Do you want to finish reading Fuso Uzumaki’s journal?” He asked, knowing talking about the man’s clan would effectively pull his attention away from Sasuke’s birthday. And as predicted, Naruto’s eyes lit up with surprise and child-like wonder and he nodded repeatedly. The last two times they had met, they had spent it looking over some of the historical reference books and learning about the layout of the villages and countries Fuso had mentioned in her account with Sasuke explaining some of the more minute details—like what chakra and fuinjutsu was.

When the historian had explained the Uzumaki clan’s affinity for sealing jutsus and shown some examples, Naruto had pulled his shirt up without any preamble and showed the swirling tattoo he had designed and got when he was eighteen. He compared it to the ones in the books Sasuke had laid out and wondered if maybe the idea had been an ancestral throwback, the designs being quite similar.

Sasuke hadn’t really been able to answer, his eyes too focused on the hard abs of Naruto’s stomach and the intricate tattoo that surrounded the blonde’s naval. The continuous tan hadn’t lost his attention either and Sasuke had bitten his tongue to stop him from shoving the blonde to the ground and tracing that tattoo with said tongue. He had _never_ lusted after someone like this before; obviously his lack of sex was getting to him.

Sasuke pulled the small journal from where it had taken up residence on his workstation and gently opened the book to where they had left off. Naruto’s attention was solely on the book now as he practically vibrated with excited energy as Sasuke began to read once more. They were near the end of the journal where Fuso had written that war was breaking out once more and they were no longer safe in Amegakure and that her and her husband, Ise, were trying to decide where to take their young son that would be safe.

Naruto listened closely as Sasuke’s smooth baritone washed over him and once more he found himself pushed up against the historian’s side, watching as Sasuke’s mouth formed the words that flowed out with such surety. Hell, Sasuke could be making all of this up off the top of his head and Naruto would never know, he almost wouldn’t care as long as Sasuke kept talking. The reclusive historian didn’t speak much except when he was reading or goading Naruto and the small tidbits he had learned so far just made him even more interested to learn more.

He wanted to know what Sasuke looked like in the morning, how he held his fork, the way he chewed or drank, if his face relaxed when he slept or if he kept those slight frown lines. He wanted to discover how it felt to hold the man, how well their bodies would fit together and whether Sasuke made noise during sex or just quietly fucked. So caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed that the biographer had changed and he quickly got his mind out of the gutter and listened.

“ _My name is Uzumaki Nagato, this was my mother’s journal. She and my father were killed by Konohagakure ninjas during their attack on Amegakure._ ” Sasuke translated, glancing momentarily at Naruto to see how the blonde was taking it. He knew Naruto was much more invested in this story than he let on and he wouldn’t be surprised if the blonde was actually grieving someone who had died centuries ago. “ _They claimed it was accidental, but they paid for it with their lives. My mother hadn’t even been an active shinobi for many years and my father had always been a civilian. My home country had been taken from me before I had even been born and my parents taken from me before I had turned eight. One day, Konohagakure will pay for what they did and then I will bring peace to the entire world, even if I must do it through fear of annihilation. Konohagakure will be the world’s example to those who refuse to submit. Then my parents will be able to rest._ ”

Naruto sat stunned for a moment. He hadn’t really thought about how the journal would end, he kind of expected it to just…end, not have a final note that explained what happened to his long lost ancestor from another long lost ancestor. Licking his dry lips, he slightly smiled and then chuckled. “Well…I guess he failed, huh?” He cracked, lessening the tension as Sasuke watched him intently.

Sasuke closed the book with a wry smile. “Certainly seems that he did.”

The blonde watched as Sasuke placed the book back on his desk and then stretched, obviously having sat too long as his muscles protested at the movement. He rolled his head, the column of his neck stretching and pulling Naruto’s attention towards it, his eyes following the graceful curve of where Sasuke’s pale neck melded into his collarbone. “Sasuke,” he called, waiting for the raven historian to turn towards him, their noses almost touching and Sasuke was struck with just how blue Naruto’s eyes actually were. Then lips were on his as Naruto pressed forward, his hand coming up to cradle Sasuke’s cheek briefly before he pulled back from the chaste yet intimate kiss. “Happy belated birthday, teme.”

Dhampir  
Page 8  
2/25/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Score Naruto! Hehe! 
> 
> Finally, a move has been made, it's only taken...two months.
> 
> And how many of you looked up zaffre to see what the color is?? ^_^
> 
> Thank you all again for your wonderful comments and kudos and I hope you're continuing to enjoy the story so far. 
> 
> Until next Thursday!


	7. Monday, September 9th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is going on a date with **Sasuke**. 
> 
> It's a miracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thursday!
> 
> Welcome back to Secret Love and all the fun that happens here ^_^ 
> 
> **We've reached over 100 kudos!**
> 
> Once again, special thanks to Ookima for being a sounding board, beta, editor and first fan!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_ nor any of the characters, but this story is completely mine!

* * *

**Secret** **Love**  
 _Chapter Seven_

**Monday, September** **9th**

Naruto was going on a date. A date with _Sasuke_. The bastard finally gave in after many more heated kisses, and Naruto’s petulant cajoling, and Naruto was ecstatic. Of course, in Sasuke form, the raven historian had _rules_ even for this and it had put a damper on some of Naruto’s ideas, but he wasn’t going to let that ruin his elation over finally getting the reclusive man to agree.

Their kiss in the library a little over two weeks ago had been followed up with some fairly heavy make out sessions that had Naruto feeling like he was in high school again, but instead of nervously trying to kiss Sakura, he was confidently pulling Sasuke into deeper and more torrid kisses. And _damn_ , did he want Sasuke in such a primal way that he was waking up almost nightly hard and aching for the raven man, but he never had been one for one-night stands and so he wanted to at least go on _one_ date before he lost control. He most definitely didn’t want Sasuke to be a one-night stand.

Unfortunately, classes had started up again and so Sasuke’s schedule had become more hectic with staff meetings, room complaints and his own two classes—a freshman class on Ancient History and his graduate group and that meant three out of five days, he was in a lecture hall or busy in the restricted library with his students. It also meant Sasuke was busy planning his lectures, grading homework and trying to still decipher the manuscript. And thus, Naruto had gotten to see the handsome man three times in the past two weeks.

It didn’t help that Naruto’s own career also got in the way of their first date and he had to fly back to New York to discuss things with Shikamaru and the rest of his crew. But he made certain that he was back in Boston before too long because despite keeping up their texts, it wasn’t the same as seeing Sasuke in person.

Sasuke took it all in stride though, he didn’t even question what Naruto was doing in New York, he just nodded—half distracted by a particularly badly written essay by a freshman—and kissed Naruto before shooing the blonde away for being too disturbing. Naruto wasn’t used to people not being interested in his life, so it was partially refreshing and partially off putting, but it was just another reason he wanted to take the historian on a date. It would be a chance to get away from the library that Sasuke was always wrapped up in and maybe get him to talk more.

If it was up to Naruto, he’d take the gorgeous historian to the fanciest restaurant around for dinner and then drag him all over town to do any and everything, but Sasuke made his _rules_ and Naruto had agreed to follow them—only because otherwise Sasuke _wouldn’t_ agree.

And so, once again, he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about what he was doing with Sasuke, he wasn’t allowed to pick somewhere high end nor could it be somewhere that had a lot of traffic or be too open, and it had to be a lunch date away from the university. Naruto didn’t really mind going somewhere more private, but it did make him wonder if Sasuke was uncomfortable being seen with him.

Or maybe Sasuke hadn’t told anyone he was gay—or bi, Naruto had never asked and he didn’t really care since the devastatingly handsome man was attracted to him and that’s all that mattered. Maybe Sasuke was concerned about the backlash or it getting around his university that he was dating a man, but Naruto was willing to do whatever necessary to date the reclusive historian and he wasn’t about to start arguing with him now. He’d press for more openness once they were more comfortable with each other, but for now he’d respect the raven’s want for privacy.

And so he had spent the last week researching a place that would fit all of Sasuke’s prerequisites as well as not just be some dive bar. He had finally found a quaint yet elegant café that served a variety of foods as well as hot beverages that would a good ten miles from the university. It was off the beaten path and from the pictures online it looked like it had been set up for quiet conversation and just the perfect place to take Sasuke.

He came down the stairs mid-morning that Monday and paused when he found Jiraiya still home, the Dean most definitely should have been at the university by now and Naruto had made sure to be vague when his grandfather had asked him what he was doing today. The white haired man was reclining on the couch with a cup of tea, talking with a honey blonde haired woman that Naruto hadn’t seen in close to a year.

Naruto smiled brightly, bounding over with the exuberance of a six year old and practically jumped on the woman. “Baa-chan!” He yelled, pulling her off the couch before scooping her into his arms and spinning her around.

“Brat! Put me down this instant!” Tsunade yelled, smacking Naruto on the head, but she couldn’t stop the laughs that bubbled up.

Naruto set her down and then gave her a fierce hug before kissing her cheek. “I haven’t seen you in such a long time!”

Amber brown eyes looked the blonde over from head to toe. “You’ve certainly filled out, Naruto, I bet you’re beating the women off with a stick now.”

“Yeah, and he never brings _any_ of them home to me!” Jiraiya complained.

“Like they’d want your pervy ass, old man.” Naruto taunted before looking Tsunade over. The woman was nearly the same age as Jiraiya, but certainly didn’t look it and if anyone else had told him it was natural beauty, he would have laughed, but he’d known Tsunade for a long time and she would never go the route of plastic surgery. She looked a good twenty five years younger than she actually was and Naruto swore she hadn’t aged _at all_ since he last saw her. “And you’re looking as beautiful as always, baa-chan.”

“Then stop calling me that, you brat!” She huffed, but the amusement was clear as she rubbed Naruto’s hair affectionately, which he quickly tried to fix.

“My…” Jiraiya looked his grandson over with a whistle, “someone’s got a date.”

Naruto looked down at his outfit, okay so yeah, maybe he had dressed up _some_ for Sasuke, but it wasn’t that obvious! Dark black jeans and a bright orange shirt that hugged his chest and torso and the necklace that Tsunade had given him when he officially became a teenager at thirteen was it. He didn’t look that out of the ordinary for a date. “You don’t know that!” He protested, doing his best to look casual.

Tsunade clucked her tongue, giving the blonde man a pointed look. “I haven’t seen you in a year and _I_ know it. You don’t ever style your hair yourself except when you’re going on a date.”

He flushed, the two elders knew him way too well, which is why he had planned it so Jiraiya would already be gone before he showered and dressed. That plan obviously had backfired and now his grandfather had backup. “Fine,” he sighed, “you figured it out, I’ve got a lunch date in an hour and a half.”

“Well, you certainly are dressed sharp.” She teased, catching his cheek between her thumb and forefinger and shaking it a little.

“Ganny!” Naruto complained, pulling away and rubbing his cheek.

“So,” Jiraiya leered, leaning forward in his seat, “who’s the lucky girl? When do we get to meet her?”

The blonde gave a cocky grin, “Sorry Ji-san, but you’re not meeting any girl and not for a long time if things go well.”

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a concerned glance. “You’re dating a man?” He asked hesitantly, “I thought you swore off men after your last boyfriend.”

Naruto grimaced at the reminder of his ex, Kabuto. The silver haired man had been fairly older than him, though not old enough to have naturally silver hair, and it had been Naruto’s first serious relationship with another man. He had known he was attracted to both men and women by the time he was in high school, but hadn’t done more than casually date any men until he met Kabuto at sixteen. Jiraiya had serious reservations about the man, who was seven years older than Naruto, and didn’t like how the man would leer at his grandson, but Naruto had been adamant about dating the man and with the age of consent being sixteen he couldn’t legally keep the man away.

The two had dated on and off for almost four years, interspersed with Kabuto breaking up with the blonde whenever he found someone else he wanted to date for a while before coming back and begging Naruto to take him back. And, Naruto being naive and trusting, kept taking him back thinking it would be different _that_ time. On top of that, the man had been sadistic to a fault, never physically abusive, but certainly eliciting pain during sex and convincing Naruto to try things like asphyxiation and dry or unprepped sex. While he had never agreed to having dry sex again, he had consented to being choked more times than he’d ever admit even though it was something he never had enjoyed. As their relationship progressed, it also began to implode as Kabuto kept pushing for more edgy things like wax play or blood play—the silver haired man had an affinity for knives and scalpels. He had learned how to manipulate Naruto, which is how the blonde had found himself agreeing to letting Kabuto cut his face all while believing the man loved him. Kabuto had called scarring his face with whisker marks an “act of love”, sometimes Naruto wasn’t certain how he survived as long as he did considering some of the stupid things he had done in his life.

The last straw had been when Kabuto wanted to try something new, a surprise, he had told his boyfriend, and brought Naruto to visit an “old friend”, a man named Orochimaru, a sickly looking long haired ebony man whose amber eyes glowed with debauched lust when he saw Naruto. Kabuto’s surprise had been for the three of them to have sex—or more so for Orochimaru and Kabuto to enjoy using Naruto as their positional fuck toy—because Kabuto wanted to try double penetration _on_ Naruto.

Naruto had gone ballistic, screaming at both of them and punching Kabuto straight in the face before he left and took a cab home. Kabuto had shown up the next day with a broken nose and black eye, once again simpering while begging for Naruto to take him back, but the blonde knew it was really the end and refused. While they had moved in together for a while, they had never done much more than fuck and go out with Kabuto’s friends, but it had been such a disaster of a relationship that Naruto swore he would never date another man again. And until Sasuke, he had done just that and had only dated women without ever looking back, though he certainly still appreciated the male form whenever he saw a handsome man.

But Sasuke was _different_ and Naruto couldn’t resist the visceral pull he felt towards the reclusive man.

“I wasn’t exactly _looking_ , ya’know?” Naruto shrugged, giving them his trademark toothy smile. “I promise, this man is nothing like Kabuto.”

“Who is he?” Jiraiya asked, worry etched into his face.

The blonde shook his head and flashed an apologetic smile. “I promised not to say, not yet at least. We’re just…seeing where things go right now.”

“I don’t like this, Naruto.” Tsunade spoke up, arms crossed beneath her ample breasts as she frowned at the boy she saw as her own son. “We don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“Look, I’m an adult and I _promise_ you, he’s a good guy, but we’re trying to keep things under wraps right now, which is _why_ Ji-san wasn’t even supposed to be here right now!” He explained exasperatedly as Jiraiya just sighed heavily before sipping his tea. He’d have to trust his grandson to know what was best for him, at least for now. “Come on, can we stop talking about my love life and talk about how you’ve been, Baa-chan? I’ve only got an hour before I need to leave and we have an entire year to catch up on!”

* * *

Sasuke shifted his sling backpack to a more comfortable position as he waited at the corner where he agreed to meet Naruto. It had been a long time, _years_ actually, since Sasuke had gone on a date. Usually he just agreed to hooking up and either went to his partner’s house or a hotel—he never brought anyone to his house. It wasn’t his childhood home, it was one he had bought after coming to Boston to study, and eventually teach, at the University of Boston, but it was still the only place that he felt truly safe from prying eyes and so he disliked bringing anyone there. The only person who had ever been inside had been Jugo when he had come to visit Sasuke in person a few years ago and even then it had been a brief two day visit.

A roaring sound caught Sasuke’s attention and he looked over at the vehicle coming down the road, knowing it was the blonde dobe as soon as he looked. No one else would be balancing a motorcycle on one wheel down the road wearing a bright orange shirt, nope, there was absolutely no other possibility, and as the sleek black motorcycle—with orange under lights—came to a stop before him, Sasuke began to question what made him agree to a date with this idiot.

Naruto leaned his weight on one leg and flipped up the visor on his helmet, grinning at Sasuke who gave him the most unimpressed flat look the blonde had ever seen. “Hey, Sas.”

“No.” Sasuke said, not even looking at the blonde.

Naruto faltered and quickly balanced the motorcycle again. “What? Why?”

“I’m not getting on that thing.”

“The motorcycle?” He asked quizzically. Dark, brooding, handsome Sasuke didn’t want to ride a motorcycle? Naruto would have sworn the seductive man had his own, it just seemed like something the raven would already possess, but obviously he had been wrong considering the historian’s reaction.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes with annoyance, “No, I mean you, dobe.”

The mental image of Sasuke getting on _him_ , straddling _him_ and riding _him_ had Naruto biting back a moan and he blew out a tightly controlled breath. The dispassionate look Sasuke shot him told him the raven was unamused. He reached behind him to where the second helmet lay tethered to the seat and quickly untied it before he held it out to Sasuke. “Come on, teme, I won’t let you fall off, I promise.”

Cautiously Sasuke took the helmet, eying the sleek motorcycle warily before he finally looked at Naruto. His impossibly blue eyes were wide with excitement and hope as he gave Sasuke that lopsided smile the raven found unbearably cute and he usually found _nothing_ cute.

“Please?” Naruto begged, “I found a place that follows _all_ your rules and everything.”

“If you crash, I’ll kill you.” Sasuke groused, pulling the helmet over his head and swinging his leg over the motorcycle. “And don’t you even _think_ about making one of the tires leave the road.”

“Whatever you say, Professor Uchiha.” He teased, pulling the visor back down and revving he engine.

Arms wrapped around his waist without hesitancy and Sasuke slid his body close so that his chest was pressed against Naruto’s back tightly. The blonde glanced over his shoulder briefly, but the visor blocked out any indication of the Uchiha’s expression, though if he had to guess, he’d definitely go with the raven deviously smirking.

He had given a handful of dates a ride on his motorcycle as well as a few friends, but they all did the same thing—hands gently gripping at his waist, or if they were adventurous his hips, while they tried to keep some space between them, at least until Naruto took off and they’d quickly readjust their grip just to hang on.

But Sasuke knew what he did to the blonde and exploited it with expertise. “Is our lunch date sitting in one spot on a motorcycle?” He deadpanned, the words slightly muffled by the helmet, but the flat tone quite apparent.

Naruto chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest as he revved the engine once more and glanced at the road to make certain he could pull out and then floored it. His feet hooked up to the foot rests and he leaned forward, Sasuke’s body following as the raven’s hold tightened minutely. With the speed he was going, they should be at the café within ten or fifteen minutes, but as Sasuke’s legs opened wider so he could slide close enough to press his crotch against the blonde’s ass, Naruto decided he was definitely choosing somewhere an hour away for their next date just to prolong the ride.

He couldn’t go very fast through downtown Boston, but he did his best to take hairpin turns that would make Sasuke react—and react he did, but _not_ in the way Naruto thought. At first Naruto thought it was accidental, the way his shirt had moved up with a gust of wind as they took one of those sharp turns and he certainly didn’t mind feeling Sasuke’s hands against his bare skin, but as one of the raven’s hands began to creep further up, fingers tantalizingly stroking, Naruto knew it was no accident.

Sasuke smirked as he felt the blonde shudder beneath his touch; it seemed Naruto had finally caught onto his little game. His right hand continued upwards, feeling across well defined muscles and finding the fine haired trail that he knew he could follow south to the handsome man’s groin. His fingers followed the curve of Naruto’s left pectoral before ghosting upwards and stroking across the blonde’s nipple. He couldn’t hear the hitch in Naruto’s breath, but he felt it and felt the nipple beneath his thumb begin to harden and pebble up. The motorcycle swerved momentarily as the speed suddenly dropped before Naruto got it back under control and Sasuke felt unusually gleeful at the power he wielded over the blonde. 

Feeling embolden, Sasuke continued to graze the hard nipple, letting his nail scrape against it every so often, while his other fingers continued to caress the skin around it. He had allowed his left hand to remain wrapped around the blonde’s waist, stroking along the waistband teasingly, but with his right hand now snugly wrapped around Naruto’s chest, Sasuke’s left hand was free to roam. And roam it did, initially just fingertips dipping beneath the waistband momentarily, but as Sasuke brought his hand to the left side, he firmly ran it down Naruto’s hip and to his inner thigh. He gripped that thigh painfully tight when the motorcycle swerved again, this time a car honking at them, but Sasuke wasn’t deterred as Naruto once more righted the damnable thing.

If Naruto was truly concerned, Sasuke knew he’d reach down and remove his hand, but the blonde didn’t and so Sasuke didn’t stop. He stroked and caressed with both hands, his left moving closer and closer to Naruto’s groin until his hand was finally covering the fly of Naruto’s jeans. He could feel the hardness hidden within and had just begun to palm the erection there when the motorcycle came to a sudden stop. Sasuke immediately backed off as Naruto pulled his helmet off and turned dark cobalt eyes on him as he twisted his upper body around to look at Sasuke.

“You are shameless, Sas.” He heatedly accused, voice thick with desire. “You tell me don’t crash under pain of death and then you start teasing me like that?”

Sasuke removed his own helmet, smirk already in place as he easily met Naruto’s gaze. “I thought you had the control for it.”

“Oh, I have the control, but damn are you testing it.” Naruto chuckled, pushing down the kickstand before sliding off the motorcycle. Before Sasuke could protest, Naruto cupped his flushed face and attacked those sinful lips as he pulled the raven historian off his bike. “We should have done this date at your house—or mine, though Jiraiya was there, so mine would have been a bad idea,” Naruto babbled against Sasuke’s lips in between kisses, “but you’ve got me so hard right now that I’d fucking screw you in front of him.”

The teasing seemed to have backfired as the normally stoic man momentarily forgot that they were standing in plain sight of anyone who saw them and returned Naruto’s frantic kisses with the same fervor. He pulled Naruto’s body close against his, realizing for the first time that he was just two or three inches taller than the blonde and it forced Naruto to tilt his head up just a little to kiss him. Most of their heated kisses had been exchanged while sitting close together in the library, but Sasuke enjoyed having Naruto’s lean muscled body pressed against his like this.

Naruto pulled away with a groan, cheeks flushed and eyes dilated as he gathered his self control before things got too carried away in the middle of the street. “Lunch, Sasuke.” He panted, his hand resting on the raven’s chest though he wasn’t certain if it was to keep the sinful man away from him or close to him. Naruto pointed towards the café that he had stopped in front of, the little storefront had dark windows that the people inside were given a little privacy, but not so dark it looked like a strip club. “I want at least one date before we move onto _other_ activities.”

Sasuke shrugged, a slight smirk on his reddened lips, but he looked much less affected by the kisses than Naruto was. Of course, his own erection was straining against his pants, but Sasuke had made it his life work to look indifferent and detached and so he gracefully glided away from the blonde and into the café with Naruto painfully walking behind him.

* * *

They were seated quickly, their waitress blushing prettily at the two handsome men, and both had ordered within minutes. They were past the lunch rush since Sasuke’s class didn’t end until two and so the little café was almost deserted. The quaint café had half a dozen small tables that sat a mixture of two to four people with various foliage that allowed some seats total privacy—which is where Naruto had led Sasuke to—and the raven had to admit that Naruto had chosen well. The café was everything he had requested and Sasuke couldn’t stop the grateful look he gave the gorgeous blonde who was sitting across from him with an elbow on the table and his face cradled in the palm of his hand, eyes directly on Sasuke.

“Does it get your stamp of approval?” Naruto quipped.

“Hn.”

The blonde chortled quietly as he rolled his eyes, “That’s probably as close as I’m going to get.”

“I have to try their food first.” Sasuke explained, nodding to the waitress as she set down his tea and Naruto’s coffee. He had ordered their Bengal Spiced tea as he wasn’t one for sweet teas and carefully picked up the hot beverage before taking a small sip. As the mixture of cinnamon, ginger and cloves rolled across his tongue, Sasuke let his eyes close in a rare moment of bliss and knew he had found his new favorite tea as he took another sip.

“Looks like you’re enjoying that.” His date smiled brightly, “Can I try it? You can try mine…” Naruto pushed his Irish coffee towards him, but Sasuke glared at the offending drink as he pulled his cup closer.

“You can keep that disaster away from me.” He scoffed, looking at Naruto’s dark coffee drink that was topped with copious amounts of whipped cream and drizzled with dark chocolate with antipathy.

Naruto heartily laughed, leaning back in his chair as he shook his head at the historian. “Okay, so you don’t share well, I’ll keep that in mind.”

The raven eyed Naruto heatedly before his gaze locked with the blonde’s, “No, I don’t share well.” The secondary meaning quite clear.

“Neither do I.” Naruto rumbled, “In fact, I can be quite possessive of certain things.”

The tension built between the two as they remained riveted on each other, the rest of the café blurring to the background as their mutual attraction and desire continued to rise. Sasuke could feel lust licking at his body and just after he had gotten his libido under control, but seeing how Naruto’s eyes were darkening to that deep cobalt once more, he knew he wasn’t the only one being affected by the visceral pull between them. He was beginning to agree that they should have had their date at his house and the mental image of Naruto in his bed made the blood in his body head decidedly south. Normally when he tried to picture a lover in his home, it always felt wrong, but he could picture the blonde _everywhere_ in his house. He swallowed audibly, Naruto’s eyes dropping to watch his Adam’s apple bob, and was about to suggest they just leave when their food arrived.

“Please enjoy.” Their waitress squeaked, her eyes darting from Sasuke to Naruto before she blushed again and quickly disappeared.

The tension broken, both looked at their food and quietly began to eat. Naruto had ordered the lobster po boy—a Massachusetts staple that was lobster chunks slathered in mayo, seasonings and onion surrounded by lettuce and on a hoagie roll—while Sasuke had ordered a neatly stacked BLT with extra tomato.

“So,” Naruto said after he swallowed a first bite, mayo on the corner of his mouth, “I’m hoping that maybe we can get to know each other better?”

Sasuke glanced sharply at the blonde, watching as a pink tongue darted out to lick the white substance from his lips. “Is this a date or an interrogation?” He asked acidly.

“It’s a date,” he smiled brightly, “but I really want to know more about you, Sas. Is that such a bad thing?”

“Usually.” The raven snapped, his mood souring as he took a bite of his sandwich. At least the food was good…

Naruto frowned, watching as Sasuke began to shut down and pull away. He knew the reclusive historian was very reserved, except when it comes to sexual proclivities apparently, and any information Naruto had gained had been as painfully drawn from the handsome man as having a tooth pulled, but he wasn’t known for being bullheadedly stubborn for nothing. “Hey,” he called gently, waiting until Sasuke looked at him again, “you can ask me anything you want to as well and if you’re not comfortable answering something, then just tell me. I won’t push, I promise.”

Sasuke warily eyed the blonde, weighing the options and the fall out, but eventually found himself nodding. “Fine. Why do you like orange?”

The question caught him off guard mid-bite and Naruto quickly chewed and swallowed before taking a sip of his drink that had cooled considerably by now. “I mean, it’s my favorite color. I just have always liked it…I don’t really know why? It’s bright and warm and I guess I feel like it personifies me.” He smiled brightly as if to prove it, incredibly happy that Sasuke had agreed. “Why did you pick ancient history as your major?”

The raven sipped his tea, cocking his head slightly as if gauging whether Naruto was worthy of the answer. “Much of the same reason you came to the library in the first place. I wanted to learn more about my ancestral roots and just…never left.”

“Do you enjoy being a professor?”

“Yes,” Sasuke smirked, “though I’ve been told most are afraid to take my class. Many join because of my name, and I’ve had many girls join because of my looks, but usually within two weeks half of those students leave.”

Naruto laughed, back to leaning on the table with his cheek cradled in his palm. “I definitely would have joined just based on your looks, but I’m damn stubborn, so I would have stuck it out.”

“And I’d have failed your ass.” He teased back.

“I bet your parents are proud of you, right? I mean, Ji-san told me you’re like the youngest department head in the history of the school.” Naruto knew he overstepped when the air suddenly became chilly and the amusement that had been dancing in Sasuke’s eyes suddenly disappeared.

“My parents are dead.” His own voice dead and inflectionless.

He blinked, not expecting that answer. “I bet they’re still proud of you.” He knew saying he was sorry was just empty words, he didn’t know Sasuke well enough and he certainly didn’t know Sasuke’s parents, so saying he was sorry didn’t really mean much. He hated it when people immediately told him they were sorry when he mentioned he was an orphan when they didn’t know him or his parents.

The ice slowly melted from Sasuke’s eyes when he realized Naruto wasn’t going to ask for more or apologize for mentioning them. It was a nice change from what people usually did, which was immediately beg forgiveness and then ask for details. “Maybe,” he shrugged, “my mother would have been, but my father would most likely be disappointed in my chosen profession. He was a business mogul and so no matter what I achieve, he would have seen it as a waste of my talents.”

Naruto tried not to be too giddy over the fact that Sasuke was freely sharing something, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he reached out and touched the raven’s hand. “You’re tenacious; I bet you would have convinced him in the end, especially after you solve that manuscript.”

The surety of Naruto’s tone brought a sad smile to Sasuke’s lips and he turned his hand over so their fingers could interlock. “Tell me something most people don’t know about you.” He really wasn’t certain what to ask the blonde, or maybe he had too many he wanted to ask that he was having trouble figuring out which one to ask first. The way Naruto handled the knowledge of his parents’ death had thrown him and instead of finding himself guarded and wary, he was relaxing around the blonde, finding that he wanted to open up— _a little_ —and that sent his mind reeling.

The blonde pursed his lips, eyes glancing upwards as he thought. “Something most people don’t know…okay, my first kiss was with Kiba when I was thirteen. He doesn’t like that announced since he’s most definitely straight, but I wanted to kiss Sakura and was afraid of being bad at it and so, as my best friend, he suggested I practice on him so that when I tried to kiss her, I wouldn’t fail miserably.” He chuckled before giving Sasuke that lopsided smile, “I still did though, it was one thing to kiss your best friend you don’t have romantic feelings for and a whole other thing to kiss the girl of your childhood desires.”

He had no idea who Kiba and Sakura were, but Sasuke nodded anyway, more caught up in the way Naruto’s eyes sparkled mirthfully and the way his thumb was stroking his palm. “Then you’re bisexual?”

Naruto nodded before roguishly grinning, “Though right now I’d say I’m Sasuke-sexual.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “That was terrible.”

“Okay, yeah, that was,” he laughed. “But what about you? Obviously you’re not straight…”

“I guess I’m bi, but I’m not often attracted to women.” He pulled his hand away under the pretense of eating another bite of his sandwich, but it was more just too distracting with the way Naruto’s thumb kept stroking. “They…killed almost any interest I had in the opposite sex by the time I was in high school.”

“Always chasing you?” Naruto asked knowingly. Sasuke was deleteriously handsome, Naruto was certain he most likely turned quite a few straight men bi, if not gay, and was certain the girls flocked in droves to the raven man.

Sasuke arrogantly smirked, but didn’t say anything, just took another bite of his sandwich.

“Do you still have that issue at the university?”

“Sometimes,” he acquiesced, “it’s why I love my domain and its restricted access. Though my reputation usually precedes me here and I have been known to verbally… _decimate_ those who don’t heed my refusals.”

“That’s sexy as hell.” The blonde said roughly, thinking about watching Sasuke take someone apart while standing there haughtily as the other person was put in their place.

The raven historian snorted, “You really do have something for me being a bastard. I’m amazed you didn’t try to just fuck me when I was being a _complete_ bastard to you.”

Naruto looked predatorily at Sasuke, “Maybe I’ll do that next time.”

“You can try.” Sasuke smirked, but his own expression had turned rapacious. Despite finally giving in to their desires and kissing often as if they were devouring each other, the tension and sexual energy between them hadn’t lessened—if anything it had grown.

The blonde shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his waning erection had returned with a vengeance and he wasn’t certain how he was going to make it through this date. He thought having Sasuke’s undivided attention would be great, and it was, but he hadn’t realized how deliriously addictive it was to be the sole focus of that intense and penetrating gaze. Often the raven’s focus was split between Naruto and the books around them or on the manuscript he was still deliberating.

“Okay, um…more safe subjects before we need to find a bathroom stall.” Naruto grinned, enjoying how Sasuke’s eyes darkened to a smoldering onyx at the thought. “Do you have any other siblings? I know you’ve got at least the one, that was a sibling in the picture on your desk, right? I’m an only child, well obviously considering both my parents died when I was a baby—or maybe not obviously, I could’ve had an older sibling…” he tapered off, not yet noticing how stiff Sasuke had become, “but I don’t. Have an older sibling I mean, or any sibling. Let me try that again,” Naruto laughed, smiling at the suddenly expressionless historian, “I don’t have any siblings and no other family that I know of.”

“I only have an older brother.” Sasuke said before he bit his tongue. He didn’t talk about Itachi, _ever_ , and so the fact that he had just blurted that out when he had been ready to tell Naruto nothing made him tense.

“Oh yeah?” Naruto’s voice was tentative, his eyes picking up on Sasuke’s uncomfortable body language and the way his eyes became guarded. “Okay, new subject.”

The raven started, surprise flashing before impassivity won. Naruto had been serious when he told him he wouldn’t push Sasuke and he hadn’t even had to tell the blonde to talk about something new. He had just known. “Where’d you get the whisker marks? They don’t look like tattoos.” Sasuke asked, watching as Naruto’s shoulders tensed as the blonde rubbed his cheek self consciously.

“Ah…not something I share on the first date,” he smiled apologetically, “but you’re right, they’re not tattoos, they’re scars.”

_Scars._ Sasuke stared hard at the marks, the six lines were straight and clean and he wanted to know the story behind them, but he wouldn’t push just as Naruto wasn’t pushing him. Instead he smirked as he reached out to brush the tanned cheek briefly. “They’re cute. They make you look foxy.”

“ _Foxy?_ ” Naruto laughed, most people commented on them and thought they were odd, but it was the first time someone had told him that they actually liked them. Even Kabuto had huffed, annoyed at how they had turned out. Sasuke was definitely unlike anyone he had ever dated, hell unlike anyone he had ever known.

A loud gasp tore both men away from their conversation as they looked at two older teens clutching at each other as if their life depended on it. Their eyes were wide eyed as they stared at the two men, mouths still parted from their gasping.

“Oh my _god_ , it really _is_ you!” The one woman said, blonde hair falling in ringlets around her face as her jade green eyes stared at their table, her grip tightening on her dark skinned friend whose braided plaits fell around her trembling shoulders.

Sasuke’s expression turned murderously dark as Naruto shot the raven an apologetic look. He did not need to deal with this on his date with the blonde; he certainly didn’t want the idiotic women telling Naruto anything he wasn’t ready to divulge personally. Well, Naruto was possibly about to get his wish of watching Sasuke verbally take apart someone with his tongue lashing.

Despite Sasuke’s withering glare, the girls shifted closer to the table apparently finding strength in numbers. The blonde nervously tittered, eyes glancing from Sasuke to Naruto before she bit her bottom lip in what was probably supposed to be seductively innocent. “Can you please sign this for me?” She asked, suddenly shoving a paper and pen forward—to _Naruto_.

“Sure,” Naruto smiled sweetly, taking the pen and paper from the girl’s trembling hand as Sasuke stared at the scene dumbfounded. They wanted _Naruto’s_ _autograph?_ “I’d be happy to, what’s your name?” 

“Um, Sara, S-A-R-A, n-no H.” She stuttered, squealing at her friend who looked ready to hyperventilate. “And this is Eve, we just _love_ you!”

Eve nodded in agreement, tremulously speaking up, “We saw you and didn’t really think it could be you, but it really _is_ you! You are so much hotter in person.”

“Um, thank you. I always love meeting fans,” Naruto laughed lightly, handing the autographed paper back to the girls, “but I’m having lunch at the moment with a good friend,” the blonde gestured to Sasuke who sat utterly confused at the turn of events, “so you’ll have to excuse me for keeping this brief.”

“Can we take a picture?” Sara pushed, already taking her cell phone out of her pocket.

“No.” Sasuke said so caustically the girls took a step back with surprise before paling before thunderous black eyes.

Naruto gave the raven historian a questioning glance, but then smiled apologetically at the girls. “Sorry, but I don’t usually do pictures inside without getting the owner’s permission in advance.”

The girls nodded, looking slightly put out, but more nervous about the dark companion the blonde was sharing lunch with. “Well, thank you for the autograph, w-we’ll leave you to your lunch. Thank you again!” And with another squeal, the two girls quickly left the café, excitedly talking to each other about meeting Naruto.

Naruto looked back at Sasuke with a small smile that quickly disappeared, confused by the absolute anger emanating from the raven historian. Sasuke’s glare slid from the backs of the retreating girls to rest squarely on Naruto as he crossed his arms over his chest. “What the _fuck_ was that about?”

“They wanted an autograph, it’s fairly common actually.” Naruto shrugged, trying to put the man at ease and giving him a bright smile. “I don’t usually mind pictures, but you seemed very… against that, so—”

“Why do they want your autograph?” Sasuke interrupted, “Who the hell are you, Naruto?”

This time it was Naruto who was taken by surprise as he cocked his head to study the querulous historian across from him. Realization alighted in his eyes as Naruto sat forward, “Wait, you mean you don’t know? Really? But you recognized my name…”

“What the fuck does the fact that I recognize your last name have to do with _anything_?” Sasuke snarled, slamming his hand down on the table and making the cups rattle.

“Sas, calm down.” The blonde tried to soothe, but Sasuke only bristled at the tone. “I thought you knew, I’m sorry, really. It’s not often I meet someone who _doesn’t_ know me and so I just assumed you knew.”

“Stop rambling, dobe, I’m losing my patience.” His patience was already gone, long gone actually and he was about ready to punch the blonde if Naruto didn’t spit it out this instant.

“I’m a professional singer, Sasuke.” Naruto gave that lopsided smile again, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly, “I’m an A-listing celebrity.”

Dhampir  
Page 15  
3/4/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh finally, the secret's out now! Hahaha! 
> 
> So did anyone guess this? There were little clues, but nothing outright because I definitely wanted the readers to be blindsided like Sasuke was. Hoping I did it?
> 
> And finally a longer chapter too! 
> 
> Thank you again for all your comments and kudos ^_^


	8. Monday, September 9th/Saturday, September 14th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke discovers Naruto's a singer and doesn't handle it well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a **MONDAY** update! 
> 
> No, I'm not switching this to two updates a week yet (I'm working on it!), but Thursday is my birthday and I decided I was going to update all my stories extra this week and since _Secret Love_ updates on Thursday, I'm updating today **and** Thursday ^_^ 
> 
> So, enjoy~
> 
> Also, this story has reached 150 kudos! That makes me so happy to see so many enjoying it! ^_^

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own _Naruto_ , pretty sure by this point I never will...

* * *

**Secret Love**  
_Chapter Eight_

**Monday, September 9th**

It wasn’t often Sasuke was caught off guard, there were only two or three times he could definitively say it happened and this would be one of them. The blonde idiot was a _famous singer_? A _celebrity_? And not just a celebrity, but an A-listing celebrity, which meant he was at the top of the list. That meant he knew a lot of people, famous people, and was probably extremely wealthy and obviously he was famous enough that people recognized him on the street…

Naruto was a celebrity.

And celebrities meant paparazzi—snooping people with _cameras_ who would get in their faces and ask pointed, nasty questions. The complete opposite of what Sasuke wanted and a major reason the raven historian was a recluse.

“Take me back to campus.” Sasuke snarled, shoving away from the table.

Naruto nodded, curiously watching the man. “Sure, Sasuke, it’s probably a good idea anyway. I’m sure those girls are going to post on Twitter or Snapchat that they spotted me here and soon others will be showing up.”

The raven went rigid at that, eyes already darting around warily as if looking for someone ready to pounce on them. Naruto knew Sasuke hid away and he knew it had something to do with his family name, but he hadn’t expected the historian to react so strongly to the idea of someone seeing them together.

“Sas, it’s okay.” Naruto said, grabbing for Sasuke’s hand, but the raven pulled away quickly.

“ _No_ , it’s not!” He hissed, raking his hand through his hair agitatedly. If he didn’t know better, Sasuke would say he was on the verge of a panic attack with how his chest tightened and his heartbeat quickened, but he was an Uchiha and they didn’t panic, so they certainly didn’t have _panic attacks_. “Either you take me back now or I’m calling a cab.” He threatened menacingly to the shocked blonde.

“Okay, okay!” Naruto quickly stood up and threw fifty dollars on the table, certain that it would pay for their food and give a generous tip. The quaint little café was probably going to be a hot spot for at least a few weeks once news spread around. Sasuke stormed out and Naruto followed quick on his heels, mind reeling as he tried to understand why Sasuke was so upset. He could understand it being a surprise, but he couldn’t comprehend the anger and alarm the reticent historian was showing.

Slipping onto the motorcycle where Sasuke was already waiting, helmet on, Naruto slipped on his own helmet and started the bike up. Sasuke’s arms still went around his waist and he still pressed himself up against Naruto’s back, but the raven was taut and wooden this time. And on the ride back, his hands didn’t move at all, he just rested his helmeted head against Naruto’s shoulder as if he were hiding until Naruto pulled up to the corner where he had originally picked Sasuke up.

For a moment, Sasuke remained where he was, as if he were debating whether to let the blonde go or not, but then he was sliding from the motorcycle slowly. Sasuke looked around, but when no one tried to approach them, he pulled the helmet off and handed it to Naruto, his face a perfect sculpture of insouciance. “Thank you for lunch.” He said and then he turned on his heel and quickly strode away towards the parking lot his car was in.

“Sasuke!” Naruto called, momentarily debating if he should go after the man or not, but he was stopped in a no parking zone and his only other option was to drive on the sidewalk, which was quite illegal. And so he just sat on his motorcycle and watched Sasuke’s dark form disappear from view.

  
  


* * *

**Saturday, September 14th**

  
He should have gone after him and just paid whatever the fine would’ve been because _now_ Sasuke was avoiding him and refusing to answer his calls or texts. The damn recluse had become a hermit and a damned good one because no matter where Naruto went, Sasuke wasn’t there. He had tried the library and had even hung around for hours at a time, but Sasuke never showed up.

He had walked the campus for days—sweltering hot in his jacket and ball cap with sunglasses—hoping to just see the man randomly walking out of a building, but no luck there so far. It had been almost a week since their first date and Naruto _still_ wasn’t sure what had gone so wrong. Did Sasuke think he was hiding his fame from him? Did he think Naruto was toying with him? Was he now intimidated by Naruto’s celebrity status? None of those seemed to fit though and he had already explained that he thought Sasuke knew he was famous from the get go.

Shikamaru had called him two days later when the story broke that Naruto was spotted in Boston and suddenly the tabloids and celebrity news websites and shows were flooded with speculation of what Naruto was doing in Boston. It helped that Jiraiya’s name didn’t match Naruto’s and so the blonde so far had been able to avoid having his childhood home discovered and people camping out in front of it, but Naruto hated that once he had become comfortable with losing the disguise that he was back in it. The two girls he had given an autograph to had squealed delightedly as they were interviewed, showing their autographed paper to the camera as they told TMZ about seeing Naruto in the café. Thankfully they hadn’t mentioned the beautiful historian he had been having lunch, he might not know what was going on with Sasuke, but he knew Sasuke wouldn’t appreciate being mentioned on TV like that.

His manager had been fielding calls and wanted Naruto to tell him what kind of statement they should release—if any. Naruto told him to tell anyone that called that he was just passing through on his way back to New York, which was true even if his passing through extended into weeks, and let them decide where he was coming from and what that meant. Naruto knew the tabloids would spin it however they wanted to, most likely saying he was visiting a lover, but he never paid any attention to the trash magazines and shows. He had more important things on his mind, like finding a certain aggravating but sinfully sexy historian.

Finally in a stroke of genius after another unsuccessful day had passed and Naruto still hadn’t seen or heard neither hide nor hair of the gorgeous raven, Naruto casually went to his grandfather and asked him what building and classroom did Sasuke teach in. Jiraiya had given him an odd look of curiosity and Naruto quickly explained that he was curious to observe how Sasuke was in a classroom and not just in the library. It was already Saturday morning, so he knew he was going to have to wait out the weekend and try to stalk Sasuke come Monday, but hopefully he’d know where to look by then.

Jiraiya shrugged, accepting the reason easily enough, and told Naruto that Sasuke was actually giving a special lecture that day. He didn’t know why the historian had requested to move his Friday class to Saturday and he hadn’t cared to ask, but he eyed his godson curiously. Naruto happily seeking out higher education? Maybe Sasuke was a good influence on the blonde singer after all…

* * *

Naruto got to the university in record time and gleefully made his way to the lecture hall Jiraiya had instructed him to, slipping in the back door and taking the closest seat as quietly as possible. The lecture was already in progress, Sasuke up at the front of the large amphitheater styled lecture hall and he saw the moment the raven historian saw him in his bright orange coat and black ball cap. He paused in what he was saying, eyes stilling on Naruto for only a few seconds, before Sasuke returned fluidly to his lecture and Naruto just watched quietly.

“The Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D. when Odoacer, who was…?” Sasuke looked around the lecture hall as a few hands went up. “Mr. Manson.”

“A Germanic king.” The redheaded student answered.

“Yes, can anyone tell me what people Odoacer was king of?”

Another hand went up and Sasuke nodded to the brown haired girl. “The Turcilingo people?”

“Close, but it’s Turcilingi.” The raven corrected before launching back into the lesson and Naruto watched from his seat captivated by Sasuke’s grace, knowledge and the way he taught. He treated them like actual people and engaged them in the conversations, not just droned on as Naruto remembered many of his teachers doing. He walked the whole room, randomly calling on students to finish his sentence, not just answer his questions, and when he would nod or crack a smirk, Naruto saw how the students beamed at him.

Sasuke continued to glance at Naruto serendipitously through the rest of his two hour lecture, but the blonde resolutely remained in his seat, just watching. He had known eventually he’d run into Naruto, but he hadn’t expected the blonde to come to his lecture. Obviously Naruto knew his schedule, but he had never told him where his lectures were held and he had begun meeting with his graduate students in another room to avoid the restricted library. He hadn’t set foot in the library at all since Naruto had dropped him off after their first date. He didn’t want to chance running into the blonde, he had hoped Naruto would just take the hint and leave Sasuke alone, but obviously he was wrong.

“If you have any questions, please see me after class.” He finally announced, eyes locking with Naruto’s piercing blues over the blonde’s dark sunglasses. “Otherwise, I expect you to read chapters twelve through fifteen and I want an essay on what _you_ think caused the fall of the Roman Empire, not just what the history books say. Dismissed.”

Students began packing up, talking quietly to each other as a few approached Sasuke’s desk where the raven was languidly leaning, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. The historian listened intently to the student, not even noticing Naruto walking down the stairs towards him, and answered before his eyes moved to the next student.

Naruto got in line behind the last student as the others filed out, not even giving Naruto a second glance. He waited patiently as Sasuke spoke with the students until it was his turn and he was the one standing in front of the raven. The two stood, gazes riveted on each other, until the lecture hall was completely empty and it was just the two of them. Naruto removed his sunglasses and hat so that Sasuke could see the rare anger on the blonde’s visage. It wasn’t often Naruto became angry, but being ignored for the past week without any reason given had enraged him and now standing in front of the damnably gorgeous man he couldn’t keep his anger in check.

“Sasuke.” He growled, his hand balling into a fist as Sasuke looked coolly back at him.

“Naruto.” Sasuke responded flatly and he saw Naruto’s teeth grit.

The blonde took a calming breath, doing his best to not punch the raven and wipe the blank look off his face. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Hn.”

“Don’t fucking _hn_ me, Sasuke.” He yelled, slamming his hands down on the desk and caging Sasuke in between his arms, his body dangerously close to the raven’s who still continued to look at him unperturbed. “What the hell is going on with you?” 

“It should be obvious, Naruto,” Sasuke mocked, “what does it usually mean when someone stops returning your calls?”

“You’re breaking up with me? We haven’t even been _together_ to break up!” Naruto objected. “And I know it’s not because you’re not attracted to me, I damn well know you want me.”

“I _don’t_ want you.” He retorted roughly, moving to push Naruto away, but the blonde moved first and grabbed Sasuke’s hair tightly as he pulled the raven into a vicious kiss. It was violent with teeth nipping and bruising lips and filthy in the way Naruto sucked his tongue dry, but Sasuke found his hands gripping the blonde’s coat tightly and pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.

Naruto dominated the kiss, his anger simmering just beneath the surface as he punished Sasuke for denying him for the past week, his nails scraped against Sasuke’s scalp and he felt the raven hiss against his lips, but Naruto wouldn’t let him retreat. Not until Sasuke relented and so Naruto pushed forward, causing the raven’s back to bow over the desk until it was almost painful as Naruto lashed his tongue against Sasuke’s, making the proud and obstinate man yield.

As soon as he felt Sasuke relax and begin to respond to the kiss, he pulled back, his eyes burning azure fire as he stared down at the raven man who watched him silently. “Tell me you don’t want me again.” He dared, pressing their hips together so they could both feel the aching arousals between them. “Tell me you don’t, Sasuke, and I’ll walk out of here right now and never bother you again, but don’t fucking _lie_ to me.” 

Sasuke glared at him, but remained mute, the erection pressing painfully against Naruto’s echoing arousal spoke for him. He wasn’t sure what to say or do because he wanted the blonde more than he had ever wanted anyone else, but he didn’t want the attention that dating a celebrity would bring—hell even if it was just a fling, it would bring more attention than Sasuke ever wanted on him again.

He rolled his hips into the raven, reveling in the groan coming from his bite reddened lips. Naruto lowered his mouth to capture Sasuke’s lips again, his hips continuing to grind against Sasuke’s as he felt the historian pushing up into him. He became lost in the smell and feel of the delectable raven, his body pressing urgently against Sasuke’s as the historian’s arms came up to wrap around Naruto’s neck and pull the blonde closer. His anger and longing for the raven had him frantically thrusting against Sasuke, his orgasm approaching embarrassingly quickly, but from the way Sasuke was responding it was obvious he wasn’t the only one so close to climaxing. He let one hand drop from the painful grip it had held on that silky stygian hair and he ran it down the contour of Sasuke’s body until it came to rest on his hip, holding it bruisingly as he pushed roughly into the raven’s hard erection.

Sasuke groaned again as Naruto’s tongue slid against his, the torrid kiss setting him on fire as Naruto continued to thrust against him as if he couldn’t get enough of him. The blonde’s own moans were swallowed wholly by Sasuke’s mouth as he responded just as roughly back, his hips thrusting up in time with Naruto’s and giving him the necessary friction to chase his orgasm that was coming upon him like a tidal wave. He wanted all of the blonde, he wanted _everything_ in a way that was all consuming, but Sasuke had a good reason he stayed out of the limelight and he wasn’t certain if he could tell Naruto or not. If the blonde would accept it or not.

The raven gasped, his body arching and pulling taut as his orgasm crashed over him, Naruto’s thrusts stuttering as he reached his own climax with a guttural groan and then they both were collapsing against the desk. Their mouths remained locked together, but the kiss turned soft and sensual as they came down from the orgasmic high as they touched and stroked.

Naruto finally pulled away, nipping at Sasuke’s bottom lip as he did, and pushed himself up. He wrinkled his nose at the sticky mess coating the inside of his boxers, but one look at Sasuke and he knew he’d do it again in an instant. “Will you explain what is going on, Sas, please?”

Sasuke’s obsidian eyes were heavily guarded as the pale man slowly pushed himself up. His hair was a mess, his lips were red and swollen and there was a thin sheen of sweat upon his forehead, but other than the slight glazed look in his otherwise guarded eyes, his expression gave away nothing. He sat on the desk and just stared at Naruto, silently judging the blonde’s worth and carefully weighing his words. He opened his mouth twice and both times clicked it shut, convulsively swallowing as he looked away from those cerulean depths that looked at him with such adoration and trust. Sasuke didn’t trust and that was the crux of the problem. He didn’t trust anyone.

“Sasuke,” Naruto called gently, trying to get the man to look at him again, but Sasuke mulishly refused as he warred with himself. “You don’t…you don’t have to tell me everything right now, but I really like you and I want to date you. I want to get to know you more, I want to learn everything about you—eventually!” He hastily added when Sasuke looked precipitously at him. “Eventually, Sas, but I want to fall in love with you, I think I already have been, and I definitely want to make love to you. So please…” He implored, reaching out to stroke Sasuke’s cheek and turn the man’s face to him. “Will you please tell me why you ran away? What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sasuke sighed, threading his fingers through his hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong, dobe.”

“Then why are you pushing me away?” He asked, the anger gone and replaced with concern for the tight lipped man.

“You know I’m a recluse, Naruto, I…” he paused, struggling to find the words that Naruto would accept without telling him everything, “I don’t want to be in magazines or on television, I don’t want people knowing about me.”

Naruto nodded, but he still didn’t understand it. It was almost like Sasuke _feared_ being known and the historian didn’t seem to fear anything. Was it maybe a phobia; was there a phobia of being known? Was that why he was a recluse? But if it was a phobia, wouldn’t he be homebound and afraid to come out of his house?

Sasuke stared at the blonde, watching the unvoiced questions flit across the charmingly handsome face as his eyes became a stormy blue. The raven historian could see that Naruto was going to accept what he said, but guilt welled up in him that the blonde was being so trusting and open while Sasuke wasn’t.

Biting the inside of his bottom lip, he worried over it for a moment before exhaled resignedly. Naruto could have looked him up at any time, but he hadn’t because he was waiting for Sasuke to confide him by his own choice. If anyone had shown Sasuke that he could trust them, it would be Naruto. The blonde had done _everything_ Sasuke had asked of him with his rules and had refused to push him on anything. “This isn’t a conversation for the lecture hall.” He finally said, pushing away from the desk and grabbing his book bag. 

Naruto grabbed his sunglasses and hat, placing them back on, and followed Sasuke as the raven historian left the building and made a beeline for the library. Naruto walked a few paces behind the man, uncertain how close he could be to Sasuke without scaring the cynical historian. He remained silent, giving Sasuke his space, as they stood in the elevator together, but his eyes stayed on handsome man. Watching as Sasuke seemed to internally battle with himself, the ways his eyes would flick to Naruto and then away again as his frown would deepen.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Sasuke swiftly made a sweep of the restricted library before appearing before Naruto and grabbing his hand. The blonde smiled, squeezing Sasuke’s hand reassuringly as the raven dragged him to his workstation, but even once they were there Naruto refused to let Sasuke drop his hand.

They stood silently for a few minutes, Naruto trying to give the raven time as he removed his hat, sunglasses and jacket, but it seemed like the more time Sasuke had, the more uncertain he became. “Sasuke?” He asked, making the raven glance at him and Naruto used their joined hands to pull the taller man to him. Caressing his cheek with his free hand, he let his thumb ghost along the historian’s lips before smiling brightly at him. “You don’t need to tell me if you’re not ready.”

“No, I do need to.” Sasuke sighed before he steeled himself as he looked into wide blue eyes. “There’s a reason most people know my name, or at least my last name. I told you how my father was a business mogul; he was ruthless in it and had made a large name for himself in buying out other companies or running others bankrupt. He…wasn’t a pleasant man, but he loved his wife and his sons and we wanted for nothing, ever.” He took another breath, his gaze sliding over to the picture on his desk, the one where they are all smiling and together, a moment frozen in time when as far as Sasuke knew everything had been wonderful.

“My brother, Itachi, was a certified genius, he was hailed as a prodigy at the age of six and my parents already had his whole life planned out before he had even had a chance to think about what he might want. He was… _everything_ to me.” He almost smiled, but it was heartbreakingly melancholy. “I looked up to him, I wanted to _be_ him, he was smart and kind and always there for me, he always made sure to have time for me, especially when our father couldn’t, which was often.”

Naruto waited, but Sasuke fell silent as the look in his eyes grew distant, pulled somewhere within himself to the past. After another a few minutes, the blonde placed a gentle hand on the historian’s shoulder. “Sasuke.” Black snapped to blue and Sasuke slowly blinked as he was brought out of his reverie. “What happened?” Naruto gently asked.

A tremulous breath left the handsome raven, his skin taking on an almost sickly pallor as he looked at Naruto, once more searching the tanned man’s face as if judging Naruto’s worth before he spoke again. “Itachi murdered our parents. My own brother ran them both through with my father’s sword.”

Dhampir  
Page 8  
3/8/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I'm certain this ending is not surprising at all, haha, or at least not nearly as surprising as Naruto's career.
> 
> But _finally_ some fiery action between the two even if it was anger driven, but hey they fight as fiercely with their fists as they do with their hips and lips ^_^ 
> 
> At least Sasuke's opening up, right??
> 
> As always, thank you for your kudos and comments! It's a lot of fun chatting with readers ^_^


	9. Saturday, September 14th/Friday, October 4th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke _finally_ starts to open up about his past and Naruto's just a sweetie ^_^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me  
> You All Get A Bonus Chapter  
> Woo-hoo and Yippee!
> 
> Welcome new and continued readers! You're all so lovely ^_^
> 
> And you all can thank Ookima's musings, support and editing for this story moving smoothly along.

**Disclaimer:** This is my story idea, but not my characters.

* * *

**Secret Love**  
_Chapter Nine_

**Saturday, September 14th**

Naruto’s mouth fell open in shock, Sasuke’s words reverberating inside his brain as he tried to comprehend what the historian had just told him. His own brother had killed their parents? What kind of person would _do_ something so heinous? What would drive a person to kill his own family? “Did he try to kill you?” He finally asked, Sasuke’s hand still in his as the reticent historian watched his expression.

“No,” Sasuke murmured before giving the blonde a wry smile, “though he promised to come back and kill me once I was older.” He suddenly found himself wrapped in Naruto’s arms, his head being pressed down into the blonde’s shoulder as one of Naruto’s hands found purchase in his hair.

“God Sasuke, please tell me he’s dead and can’t actually do that.” The idea that Sasuke’s brother could show up and finish what he had started terrified Naruto, much more than he thought it would—of course, in all his thoughts about Sasuke, _this_ most definitely wasn’t one that had ever crossed his mind even in his wildest dreams.

The raven hooked his arms beneath Naruto’s arms and gripped onto the blonde’s broad shoulders. “He’s not dead, but he’s locked away for life. He can’t hurt me.” He said, feeling Naruto tighten his hold to an almost painful embrace. “He’ll never be able to kill me.”

Naruto had buried his face into the crook of Sasuke’s neck, breathing in the man’s scent as he became overwhelmed with the sudden knowledge of the trauma Sasuke had gone through. “How old were you?”

He paused, a tremor going through him. “I was eight, Itachi was thirteen.”

“Fucking _hell_.” Naruto cursed as he held the now trembling historian.

“I had come home from school and found my brother standing in the living room covered in blood, holding our father’s prized possession, a sword that had been passed down to the first son through more than fifteen generations.” Sasuke quietly said, his voice thick with choked tears. He hadn’t talked about the details in close to ten years, not since he had been forced to tell the gritty details to the last psychologist. “I had thought someone had attacked us and Itachi was trying to protect us, it wasn’t until I had ran to him and he had…thrown me back, threatening to come back and kill me when I was older that I realized it had been him. I had run to the neighbor’s house and called the police, Itachi was still there when they arrived and they had him on video confessing to everything too.”

“Damn Sasuke,” he hadn’t known exactly what to expect when Sasuke had insisted they talk in private, but he certainly understood why now. “I had no idea…”

That made the raven chortle, “You’re the only one since you didn’t look me up. If you had done a simple search on my name, you would have known all of this already.” Sasuke suddenly pulled away, just far enough to look Naruto in the eye. “ _Do not_ look this up,” he ordered the blonde, “it’s not pretty and there are pictures. You don’t want to see them.”

Naruto nodded, “I promise, I won’t look you or any other Uchiha up. I told you before though; I want to learn about you from you and only you.” He smiled before kissing Sasuke’s lips gently.

The devastatingly handsome historian sighed, relieved, before pushing further away. He needed a moment of space to get his emotions under control and Naruto let him go easily, understanding the raven so easily. “After the murders, it became a news sensation, there were people camped out in front of my parents’ house and where I was staying for weeks. They would harass me for details, pictures or anything else. They followed me everywhere, harassing me at home and at school. I had to quit sports because they wouldn’t stop rushing the fields to try and get me to talk to them, I was moved around schools to keep them away and even now, eighteen years later, they sometimes still hound me.” He explained, thinking back to how even his high school graduation hadn’t been sacred enough to leave alone, the paparazzi there and taking pictures of the “Uchiha Massacre Survivor” to run articles on. People were fascinated with his family and the murders, that Sasuke was a person with feelings was secondary. “I’m sure in two more years it will be particularly bad since it will be the twenty year anniversary.”

No wonder Sasuke had become so upset at the idea of paparazzi on their date and his insistence to the teen girls that they couldn’t have a picture. Sasuke’s eyes were downcast as he leaned against his workstation, almost looking dejected, as he waited for Naruto to say something. The blonde licked his lips before mimicking Sasuke’s stance, though he kept his eyes locked on the quiet historian. “Do you want to date me, Sasuke?” He asked, watching as the raven slowly looked up, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“What the hell does that have to do with this?” He asked. He had expected Naruto to question him more, but really, he should have realized by now that the blonde knew when to push and when to back off.

Naruto grinned, bumping shoulders with the man. “Just answer the question, teme.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Yes.”

“Then let’s date and get to know each other better.” He said breezily, as if it was such a simple decision. “And at least for now, we’ll keep it under wraps, okay? We don’t have to go proclaiming it to everyone until you’re comfortable.”

The historian was quiet, once more weighing the outcomes, “You understand that would mean not telling _anyone_ that we’re dating?”

“Anyone?” Naruto echoed.

“I know Jiraiya too, I also know the man can’t keep a secret for the life of him.” He gave the blonde a pointed look, “I have so much blackmail on him and almost every staff member here that I could embezzle money and still keep my job, but I know better than to trust him with anything I don’t want the rest of the staff to know. And I don’t know your friends, so I don’t trust them to not look me up and let it slip.”

The blonde sighed, “So you mean you have rules for dating you, just as you have rules for everything else?”

Sasuke just smirked, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

“Okay, let’s hear these rules first.” Sasuke and his damn rules, the man certainly had a perchance for control, but considering what Naruto had learned he wasn’t that surprised that Sasuke needed to control things. His whole childhood had been out of his control and ended with him hounded to relive the most horrific day of his life just for the entertainment of others.

“First, you can’t tell anyone. Second, any dates have to have the same rules as our first. Third, no surprises, I don’t like them.” Sasuke was counting them off on his fingers while Naruto nodded, his normally cheerful face serious as he mulled over the rules the raven was listing off. “Fourth, no kissing or holding hands or anything else that would hint at us being in a relationship outside of this library or somewhere else just as private.”

“But we kissed on the sidewalk outside of the café.” Naruto protested.

“You caught me off guard,” the raven shrugged, “I’ve never been one for kissing in public anyway other than a small peck, but now that I know your celebrity status…” He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air, waiting to see what the blonde singer would do.

“Is that all the rules?” Naruto asked after a minute of silence, those azure eyes pinning Sasuke where he stood with their intensity. The blonde was _really_ thinking about it, the historian had thought Naruto would outright refuse.

“Do you have any?”

“Just one.” He said, his voice turning gravelly as he reached out and pulled Sasuke flush against his body. “I told you once I’m downright possessive at times. I’ll abide by your rules, for now at least because I won’t hide this forever, but if you’re dating me then it’s exclusive. I don’t fuck around, Sasuke; if we are dating then we are _only_ dating each other.”

Sasuke chuckled, his hands coming up to thread through Naruto’s blonde spikes. “I only want you.” He whispered roughly before pulling the blonde into a torrid kiss, his tongue immediately asking and gaining entrance into Naruto’s mouth. The two battled for dominance, but this time Sasuke almost brutally controlled the kiss, nipping and biting as he shoved his tongue further into the blonde’s mouth as if he could devour Naruto’s very soul. The authority Sasuke wielded had Naruto whimpering, his senses fully focused on how Sasuke’s hard muscles felt against him and the way their tongues twined together and how silky Sasuke’s hair was as the seductive historian bent Naruto to his will.

By the time Sasuke broke the kiss, Naruto’s eyes had slid closed and the blonde just stood for a moment, breathing hard as he tried to reorient himself. Opening his eyes to half mast, Naruto’s vision was filled with the sensuous smirk on reddened lips that belonged to the most seductive man he had ever met. Sasuke could easily have taken Hollywood by storm, of that Naruto was certain, he would only have to look at someone with that bewitching expression and _all_ of Hollywood would be eating out of his hand—and he only wanted Naruto, Sasuke was _all_ his and _only_ his. “Well then, it looks like we’re exclusive.” Naruto grinned.

“Now that we have _that_ out of the way,” the raven historian deadpanned, once again seemingly unaffected by everything that just happened, “want to continue reading about your clan?”

  
  


* * *

**Friday, October 4th**

  
  


The two fell into some semblance of a routine over the next few weeks, they spent every Sunday and at least one other weekday in the library researching Naruto’s clan, though more often than not they found themselves pressed against the wall, or Sasuke’s workstation or the floor, lost in the taste and feel of each other. Naruto kept finding small, out of the way places to take Sasuke on dates and the reclusive historian returned the favor by taking Naruto to some of his favorite places to hike off the beaten path. They never went somewhere that would be crowded and if Naruto was recognized—which only happened once since their first date—they were quick to leave before someone could see that they were together. 

Sasuke was much more on edge when they went out though, so more often than not, Naruto just recommended they meet at the library whenever he wanted to see the reclusive historian. On their dates, Sasuke would sit rigid and furtively glance around, just waiting for someone to recognize him or Naruto and he was usually too wound up and distracted to actually enjoy their time together, though he enjoyed listening to Naruto talk and watching the blonde’s face light up whenever something interesting would happen.

The reserved historian refused the lure to look Naruto up, of course it was difficult because researching was practically in his blood, but he wanted to give the blonde the same courtesy Naruto had given him and learn about the singer directly from Naruto. He knew a good amount about the blonde’s ancestral clan, but he didn’t know as much about the actual Uzumaki in front of him.

“When’s your birthday?” Sasuke suddenly asked, making the blonde who was seated beside him look up suddenly. They had actually avoided getting tangled up in each other so far and currently Naruto was reading over a history book Sasuke had pulled for him about the Uzumaki clan while Sasuke was, once again, mulling over the manuscript Jugo had given him. Though he wasn’t getting very far because his thoughts and eyes kept straying to the handsome singer next to him. Having Naruto so close was maddening, he could feel the heat radiating from the blonde and smell the cloying scent of his aftershave, it made his fingers itch to grab the blonde and pull him into another kissing session. So far the furthest they had gotten was grinding against each other and palming their erections through their clothes—Sasuke had threatened Naruto under penalty of death if the blonde even _thought_ about giving a hand job around the priceless books, like hell was Sasuke going to have cum ruining his precious books.

“October 10th.” He answered, tilting his head slightly with a smile. “I actually have to go back to New York on the 8th though and won’t be back until the 12th. My manager, Shikamaru, had already booked me on a few shows right before my birthday and then Kiba and Sakura planned some big birthday bash for my 25th birthday.”

Sasuke nodded resolutely. Naruto’s birthday was in a week and he was going to have to leave in four days. “I’m surprised you’ve been able to spend as much time here as you have been. I thought being an A-list celebrity would mean you’re constantly doing things.” The raven smirked, “Maybe you’ve overblown your celebrity status and you’re really some one-hit wonder.”

Naruto shoved him, laughing, those blue eyes sparkling with amusement and happiness. “We had just finished touring when I decided I wanted to get away from New York and came up to Boston to enjoy some time with my grandfather and just chill. Shikamaru knows I need space after touring and so he told me to take the time and write, but it wasn’t going very well. I came back from tour feeling just adrift, ya’know?” Sasuke nodded, he understood that feeling of being anchorless and needing something to ground him. “Ji-san is actually the one that recommended I find this book on the Uzumaki clan; he thought maybe connecting with my roots would help me.”

“And then you met me and forgot all about your career.” Sasuke smirked.

He rolled his eyes, but laughed good-naturedly. “I’m still supposed to be working on my new album and I can write songs anywhere, so it’s really not like I _have_ to stay in New York, but it is where my recording studio is.”

“You can write songs anywhere?” The raven asked, leaning back in his seat and giving Naruto his full attention. “Go ahead then.”

The blonde frowned, “Go ahead what?”

“Write a song.”

“It’s not that easy, teme!”

Sasuke scoffed, “I thought you just said you could write songs anywhere.”

“Fine, bastard, you want a song, then I’ll give you a song.” Naruto pushed away from the workstation and began pacing, his mind sifting through some of the songs he had been working on. Shikamaru had been after him to write anyway, thoroughly annoyed that Naruto had only gotten two songs penned and a few partials, but Naruto had been _busy_ and quite wrapped up in his boyfriend. The word ‘boyfriend’ brought a goofy smile to his lips as he looked at said taciturn boyfriend, who only elegant raised a brow in question, believing Naruto was stalling.

“This song is amazing; it’s definitely my type of song—silent.” Sasuke mocked with a wicked smirk, but Naruto just rolled his eyes at him.

Suddenly the blonde stopped and turned to Sasuke with a wide grin. “Okay, this is only _part_ of a song and it’d probably be the chorus, but I can’t exactly write an entire song on the spot.”

Sasuke gestured for Naruto to start, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his seat and watched dubiously. Suddenly it was as if the blonde changed, his blue eyes became focused and his face settled into an impish smile as he began to croon in a slightly raspy voice.

_“You got that something in your eyes, I think about it all the same  
_ _If you ever wonder if I wanna make you mine…”_

Naruto moved closer, rocking his body to the beat in his head as his arms came to rest on Sasuke’s knees. He leaned down so their faces were inches from each other and his voice becoming husky as he made certain Sasuke knew just who he was singing about.

_“Yeah, boy  
_ _I’m digging what you’re doing  
_ _Yeah boy  
_ _I’m trying to keep it cool  
_ _But you’re making it hard, I’m wishing your arms  
_ _Were wrapping me up tight  
_ _Yeah, boy  
_ _You shine and you can’t even help it  
_ _Yeah, boy  
_ _Your eyes could make the moon jealous  
_ _And if you wanna know if I wanna be yours tonight  
_ _Yeah, boy.”_

Sasuke didn’t know if that was the end of what Naruto had so far or not, but with those mesmerizing azure depths before him and the blonde’s voice surrounding him, Sasuke couldn’t resist the urge to pull the singer to him and kiss him. He poured his feelings into it, his hands messing up Naruto’s hair as he practically pulled Naruto into his lap, the blonde chuckling into his mouth before a sharp nip to the singer’s tongue had him quieting. No wonder Naruto was a famous singer, his voice was hypnotic and velvety and Sasuke was now almost jealous of anyone else who got to listen to it. He had never heard the blonde sing, though he did remember once telling him to hush when Naruto had been humming quietly—it had been distracting then, but actually hearing the blonde sing was just sinful.

“Well, someone enjoyed my singing.” Naruto whispered bemusedly against Sasuke’s lips once they separated. “Do I pass for being celebrity worthy?”

The raven nipped at Naruto’s bottom lip, pulling it between his teeth before letting it go. “I might need a private show first.”

He groaned, his arousal stirring at the historian’s guttural tone. “Fuck Sasuke, if it wasn’t for your stupid rules, I’d give you a private show right now.”

“Yeah?” Sasuke mused, his fingers slipping tantalizingly down Naruto’s muscled chest. “What would you do?”

Naruto’s eyes snapped up to meet lustfully dilated black, his breath hitching at the visceral hunger in Sasuke’s eyes as the minx’s hands slid beneath his shirt. “You want me to…talk dirty to you?” He breathed, eyes going wide at the suggestion. Damn, it was always the quiet ones, wasn’t it? His reclusive, reserved, unflappable historian was a damn incubus beneath the stoicism he always presented to everyone else.

“Shy?” The raven smirked, fingers teasing along Naruto’s ribs as he leaned forward to whisper, “Let me show you how it’s done.”

The sound that left the blonde’s lips was between a groan and a whimper as Sasuke licked the shell of his ear. “Sas…”

“I’d start with sliding my hands beneath your shirt just like this, feeling your sinuous muscles beneath my fingers as I slide my body up against yours.” The raven throatily whispered, keeping his mouth directly next to Naruto’s ear as his fingers continued their upward projection. “I’d brush my fingers over your nipples, teasing them until they were _hard_ and _aching_ for me before I’d pull your shirt off so I could bite and suck at them, swirling my tongue around it _so_ good you’d be moaning my name.”

Naruto bit his lip hard as Sasuke’s thumbs brushed over his nipples, the raven’s words already sensitizing his body to his touch. His erection was rapidly growing and he slid his hands up from Sasuke’s knees to the man’s thighs as he swallowed the moan in his throat.

“Then I’d take my tongue and lick down your chest, down further and further towards your rock hard _abs_ ,” Sasuke smirked, feeling the shuddering breath Naruto released as he began running his fingers back down the blonde’s torso. “I’d trace my tongue all around that wicked tattoo on your stomach, dipping into your navel just to tease you while I hold your hips still because you know you’d be bucking into my mouth.”

This time Sasuke’s words did elicit a whimper as the image of his hips bucking as his cock disappeared into that depraved and sinful mouth was almost too much for Naruto to handle. He wanted to shove Sasuke to his knees and do just that, but that penalty of death was still threatening in the back of his mind, forcing him to control his wonton desires even as his rock hard erection was testing the strength of the zipper on his pants.

“I’d suck _so good_ too,” Sasuke licentiously moaned, his own erection pressing urgently against his slacks that Naruto’s fingers were precariously close to. His own fingers teased the waistband of the blonde’s jeans, knowing he was playing with fire as he pushed the blonde’s restraint. “Drag that tanned skin into my mouth and suck so hard and deep—”

“Sasuke.” Naruto’s voice was dark and primal and when Sasuke pulled back to look at the blonde’s face, he saw that predatory expression that looked on the verge of losing control. Those eyes a dark cobalt that almost glowed in the dim light of the restricted library. “You better stop right now before I decide to screw your rules and screw _you_ into the floor.”

The raven historian swallowed audibly and only his love of the priceless books kept him from shoving the blonde’s pants down and doing exactly what he had just been detailing. Over the past few weeks, it had become apparent that their lust wasn’t going to be easily satisfied, if it would _ever_ be satisfied. He found himself thinking about Naruto more than he would admit, and not just in regards to what he’d like to do to the gorgeous man, but wondering what he was doing that day when he wasn’t with Sasuke. He thought about whether Naruto would like kayaking, whether he had a good day or what Naruto looked like when he was asleep, things he _never_ thought about with any of his sexual partners before and while he never voiced them, the thoughts scared him.

Sasuke had a feeling once he had the blonde, truly had him, he wasn’t going to be able to ever have enough of the amazing man before him. And Naruto was truly amazing, he was kind, sweet and understanding—nothing like what most people say celebrities are like. He wasn’t conceited at all and he didn’t seem to think he was better than anyone else just because he was rich and famous, Sasuke doubted he’d have been the same way at all. He was a conceited bastard as a reclusive bookworm; he’d definitely be an arrogant asshole if he had embraced the fame he could’ve taken.

With strength Naruto didn’t think he possessed, he pushed away from the alluring historian and tried to focus on something else, _anything_ else. Sasuke was too precious to him to just take to a hotel and fuck; he wanted to make love to the raven in his own bed, in a place that meant just as much to him as Sasuke did. Not some impersonal hotel room that who knows how many other people had fucked there and he couldn’t take Sasuke to his childhood home because there’s no way Jiraiya wouldn’t notice his grandson having sex or recognize who it was with.

He glanced at where Sasuke sat contemplatively, those glittering dark eyes trained on him as he watched Naruto as if the blonde was his prey. There was no way either one of them was going to last much longer and while Naruto knew Sasuke had his own place, the secretive historian hadn’t ever mentioned it in any conversation they’d had so far. It was obvious that Sasuke’s house, or apartment, was sacred to him and Naruto wouldn’t force himself to intrude on it, no matter how desperately he wanted the seductive raven.

That left him with one choice—Naruto was going to buy a house just so he could have sex with the most devastatingly handsome, yet complicated as hell, man he had ever met. Yup, Uzumaki Naruto, famous celebrity and A-listing singer was most definitely in love with Uchiha Sasuke, the most eremitic and secretive historian in existence.

Dhampir  
Page 9  
3/11/2021

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this chapter clears up some stuff about Sasuke, not saying him blowing off and avoiding Naruto is okay, but he just freaked out a little bit and he does have some valid reasons. As well as his growing feelings as the weeks progress.
> 
> But hey, they're an official couple now and _of course_ Sasuke's got rules. He just loves his rules! ^_^ 
> 
> So, with this fic including a singer, there will be songs that show up, but not extremely often. 
> 
> The credit for this song goes to Kelsea Ballerini, the song's called _Yeah, Boy_
> 
> Thanks for the continued support, comments and kudos!


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